


gay fairies

by moonythejedi394



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Christmas, Fluff and Smut, Halloween, Hate to Love, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, POV Phil, Party Games, Pastel Dan, Phandom Big Bang, Punk Phil, References to Shakespeare, Twister - Freeform, indian strip poker, matching suits, phanart, pseudo smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-31 01:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 44,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8556742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonythejedi394/pseuds/moonythejedi394
Summary: Everyone knew of Phil Lester's deep hatred for Dan Howell. Everyone knew that Dan Howell was the gayest gay man to ever gay. Everyone assumed that Phil hated Dan because Dan would not stop hitting on Phil, and everyone agreed that even they would be irritated by that much flirting, however everyone did not know or even guess that Phil Lester really hated Dan Howell so much because Phil actually wanted to make out with him.





	1. part one

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hour_glass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hour_glass/gifts).



> ~WRITTEN FOR PHANDOM BIG BANG ON TUMBLR~  
> Hello, thanks so much for reading this fic. This is my first real phanfic, at least it’s the first I’ve published. This whole experience with Phandom Big Bang has been amazing. I wanna thank my beta, my artist for this fic, and my wife who asked me to write this. Well, she’s not really my wife, I just call her that. Platonic wife, y’know? Because we bicker like an old married couple and I write things for her from time to time. Anyway, thanks to all those people, and here’s the fic. I don’t write very long A/N’s.  
> ~link to fanart~  
> http://nymphdan.tumblr.com/post/153181616031/i-think-im-falling-in-love-hi-hi-hi-3-this

* * *

  _ **part one** _

 

 

Phil Lester essentially hated him.

 

He hated his smirk, his idiotic love of that bloody flower crown, the arch of his eyebrow when he said something suggestive, the warm molten chocolate and golden idols that made his eyes, the fact that he was so tiny; he looked like a damn fairy with that flower crown. Phil Lester hated him, and no one would ever know how much he how much he really wanted to push him against a wall and kiss him until both of them were out of breath and drunk on the feeling.

 

He laughed with his whole body. First he would smile, wide and with his teeth showing that were a little bit crooked and he had the cutest dimples, then he'd begin to chuckle, and then he would be laughing and his shoulders would shake, he'd hold his stomach as he leaned back, his eyes would glint and sparkle with mirth. Phil hated him.

 

He whispered words to himself as he took notes. In history, he would rarely pay attention; instead he would doodle and his little sketches were lovely, but in math he would sit there staring into space, and in English he would listen to every poem and sonnet with rapt attention and Phil Lester hated him.

 

He hated that he kept watching him walk by. He hated that whenever his mind wandered it wandered to him. He hated it each time he talked to him and flirted with him because he couldn’t flirt back. He hated it when anyone else flirted with him and that he wanted to pummel whoever it was to a pulp for daring to even talk to him and he hated that he didn’t have the right to be jealous. He hated that his friend Tyler kept telling him to stop pinning and ask him out whenever the two of them were on their own and he hated that he wanted to so badly. He hated that he thought Tyler was right and that he couldn’t because he was too afraid to just leave the closet for good. He hated those smooth lips that curved every time he passed him. He hated the occasional kiss he would blow and that wink and the fact that he blushed but he'd flip him off anyway because he was a fucking fairy that needed to be squished under his steel toed boots and Phil Lester hated him.

 

He mostly hated the fact that he wanted to throw Dan Howell against the wall and kiss him until they were both unable to breathe.

 

"Hey, Lester," called Dan.

 

"What do you want, little fairy?" Phil drawled in a bored, almost rude tone.

 

"Are you gonna get another piercing? Chris said you're going to get one through your frontal lobe."

 

"Fuck off, you fairy," Phil spat, and he shoved past him roughly but Dan was smirking. He would beat him to a pulp one of these days, he swore to himself.

 

Phil did get another piercing that week. He now had 17; the snakebites in his lip, a stud in his nose, a ring in his right eyebrow and two barbells in his left, three studs in his ears and a hoop in his left cartilage. He was the definition of punk problem child, with tattoos all up his arms and black eyeliner and his leather jacket and he even smoked on occasion. He had an empty spot on his left forearm that needed something, but there were only so many skulls and guns and swords you could get before it became too monochrome. On Monday, Dan smiled and raised an eyebrow at the sight of his snakebites, and Phil sneered and called him a fairy, because that was the closest to faggot he would ever go.

 

History was so boring, Phil felt like leaving but if he failed another class he'd get held back a second time which meant his dad would kill him. He didn't realize he was staring at him until Dan looked over at him and smirked. Phil quickly glared at him, but Dan just blew him a kiss and went back to drawing on his notebook. Phil went red and he shoved a middle finger in his direction and Felix was elbowing him, hissing that Dan the Fairy had a crush. Phil laughed and sneered.

 

"It's not his fault I'm so attractive," he said.

 

Dan looked back at them and rolled his eyes pointedly. Phil gave him another middle finger, then the teacher told him to stop disrupting the class or he'd get detention. Phil just shrugged and leaned back in his chair, but before long his gaze drifted back to Dan the fucking fairy.

 

Dan was standing at his locker, shoving something into it, when Phil and his friends walked by.

 

"Fuck, can the fairy get more girly?" Mark called, commenting on Dan’s pale pink sweater, matching skinny jeans, and flower crown.

 

"I bet he'd dye his hair pink if he wasn't afraid people would know he's really a girl," Felix laughed, because that was what they did.

 

Dan turned and waved at them with a small, sweet smile, then tipped his flower crown at Phil.

 

"Fuck, can you not?" Phil said, acting disgusted. "I'm offended."

 

"All the homo bro," Dan said with a smug grin as he began to walk away.

 

"Oh, gross," Phil called. "I'll report you for abuse."

 

Dan just kept walking, and Phil was hoping the tattoos on his neck were hiding the flush creeping up it.

 

After school he and the rest of the guys hung out behind the school to smoke and wolf-whistle at every attractive girl with a C-cup or bigger that passed. Phil went through a half of a pack in that hour because Dan had walked by them with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, and, damn, Phil hated his wrists.

 

Friday, they had English last and they were reading Romeo and Juliet; Phil thought they'd just take turns reading a passage each because that was what they normally did, but the instant the class was all sitting the teacher stood up and put her fists on her hips.

 

"We are going to divide into groups of two," Mrs. Gilligan said. "And I picked them already, sit down Mr. Howard, I'm not so cruel as to force you to work with someone other than your boyfriend."

 

Phil laughed along with the guys; Jack Howard was blushing because Dean Dobbs wasn't really his boyfriend and everyone knew it, but Mrs. Gilligan liked to play games with them like this.

 

"In reverse alphabetical order, here are the groups. Go sit with your partner when I call your names." Phil didn't listen that much because she'd just put him with one of his friends or whatever kid off the Cheerleading squad or debate team she shipped him with that week, he leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling.

 

"Philip Lester and Daniel Howell."

 

Phil jerked upright and hit his midriff with the desk. "The fuck?!" he cried, louder than he'd meant to.

 

"Language, Mr. Lester, I may be 47 but I have innocent ears," Mrs. Gilligan admonished him, covering her ears with her hands. She winked at him and gestured for him to get up and move. Phil looked at his friends with a look of 'she's a fucking idiot' and got up reluctantly. He caught Tyler looking at him with a smirk and scowled at him, trying to portray as much irritation and heterosexuality as possible as he moved towards Dan’s seat. Dan scooted over in his chair and patted the empty space, but Phil ignored him. He looked down at the kid next to him, PJ he thought he was called, and jerked a thumb upward.

 

 _Move_ , he mouthed. PJ looked apologetically at Dan and got up, moving to squeeze in with another member of the nerd squad, Chris Kendall. Phil dropped into the chair and glared at the desk. Fuck Gilligan and fuck Dan the fucking fairy.

 

Dan leaned toward him with his hands clasped beneath his chin and batted his dark eyelashes with a broad grin. His heart did a flip in his throat and Phil mocked a gag because Felix and Mark would be laughing under their breaths. He didn't want them to notice him blushing, since he quite clearly was; Dan was literally the definition of adorable. Mrs. Gilligan smiled at them as if she were somehow proud of herself and kept calling names. When she finished, the classroom was divided up as she'd commanded. Felix and Mark got way better partners than Phil did; Felix was with Marzia the head cheerleader and Mark got their friend Sean, though everyone called him the Irish Jack, who at least was funny. Phil got Dan the fucking fairy, and Dan's shirt-sleeves were rolled up. Phil needed a cigarette.

 

"We're going to the gym," Mrs. Gilligan said. The class groaned. "Shush! We're going to spread out and you will read three scenes of the play together. The older in your group is Romeo and the younger is Juliet, but otherwise I don't care which characters you voice. Up, let's go."

 

Phil grabbed his backpack from his chair and the class migrated outside. Mrs. Gilligan did this a lot, though they normally just sat in circles and read together. Now they were being shooed away from each other, Mrs. Gilligan and a teacher's aide walking around to make sure they were actually doing the work.

 

Dan sat on the floor with his legs folded underneath him and smirked up at Phil. How he hated that smirk. Phil dropped down more roughly next to him and pulled open the book with a huff.

 

"So, read to me, Romeo," Dan said in a breathy voice that Phil thought should have been illegal with how much it made him want to push Dan to the ground and make him moan.

 

"Shut the fuck up," Phil grunted instead.

 

"That would defeat the purpose of the project."

 

"I'll force-feed you poison, Juliet," Phil hissed.

 

Dan raised an eyebrow and leaned closer. "I'd drink it in a heartbeat, Romeo." He was still smirking, and what he said sounded so much more sexual since he had whispered it so closely to Phil's ear.

 

"I'd enjoy watching you die in horrible agony," Phil sneered.

 

Dan set his hand on the book, and slipped it from Phil's fingers, and the tiny action almost made him weak at the knees, and grateful that they were sitting down. He was still smirking at him. He flipped through the pages, then locked eyes with him.

 

"Oh, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?" Dan said softly.

 

Phil took the book back with a jerk. "I’m right in fucking front of you, fairy."

 

"No, that's my first line."

 

Phil was blushing. "Oh."

 

Dan took it back. "Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn upon my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

 

Phil's breath hitched in his throat, because Dan was smiling just slightly and that line… Dan's voice saying my love…

 

"Your line," Dan said.

 

Phil looked down. "Um, shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?"

 

Dan had a long part next, and it had the famous "what's in a name" line and then it was Phil's turn. "I take thee at thy word; call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo."

 

"I'll call you 'love' if you'll be Romeo for a night," Dan whispered, his voice soft as he looked up at Phil through his eyelashes.

 

"Fuck, get off, dude," Phil said, shoving Dan away from him. Dan laughed and they finished the scene, then two more, and Phil was red in the face, he was sure of it. Mrs. Gilligan dismissed them half a minute before the bell rang and Phil nearly ran from Dan because his smirk and his eyes and his husky voice whispering in Phil's ear and Phil couldn't even remember anything more than the words around 'love' because Dan always said that word more softly. He didn't stop to smoke with the guys, he just got in his car and drove home. He took a cold shower but it didn’t help him any, so turned the heat on and masturbated, biting his lip to keep quiet. He could still hear Dan whispering.

 

Monday morning, Dan was wearing pastel blue. His dress shirt had one button undone, his skinny jeans were one shade darker than his shirt, and his flower crown was crooked. Phil wanted to straighten it. Dan waved to him and smirked when he passed, and Phil gagged again while Felix and Mark laughed.

 

That afternoon, Dan was leaning against his locker and he was wearing a white tie then, but it was loose and that top button was still undone.

 

"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" Dan said in his mocking voice and that smirk played tricks on Phil's mind.

 

"Oh, shut up, you fucking fairy," Phil groaned. "It's enough you're a little girl, why do you have to be so gay?"

 

Dan winked and lifted himself off the locker, his grin evilly sexual. "Only for you, Romeo," he murmured. He pushed past him and Mark laughed even harder.

 

"What the fuck," Felix called after Dan's back. "What the actual fuck."

 

"That's the idea!" Dan didn't even turn around but Phil could hear him smiling.

 

"Oh, god, I think I might puke," Phil said, "get me away from the gay lord before he kills me."

 

They walked in the other direction, but Phil's mind was following Dan and his skinny jeans that were just a little too tight on the ass…

 

Wednesday they had to read the play as a group in English. Mrs. Gilligan for some fucked up reason put Dan as Romeo and Louise Pentland as Juliet. Dan could act, and he put effort into reading Romeo's lines, and when they got to the balcony scene Phil gritted his teeth as Dan professed his Shakespearean love to Louise, and she kept giggling because Dan was just a little bit over the top. Phil's mind drifted back to Friday and Dan's performance of Juliet, but then he had a line and he mispronounced a word, which Dan corrected him on. Phil glared at him.

 

On Thursday, Dan was leaning against his locker and someone else was with him, and they were speaking in low tones to each other and Phil recognized Dan's flirting stance; his back pressed to the locker doors, one foot forward, a little smirk on his lips. Phil stopped in the middle of the hallway, and he nearly clocked that boy because he didn't get to look at Dan like that.

 

"Fucking gay fairies," Phil spat as he passed them, and Dan winked. Phil glared at everyone then.

 

When he saw him on Friday, that boy wasn't there and Dan was wearing lavender with the same white tie he'd worn on Monday. Phil had an urge to grab his tie and pull him to him; he sneered at Dan instead. Dan just grinned at him and left for class.

 

Phil was frustrated, but mostly sexually. He hated Dan Howell and his desire to pin him to the wall. On Monday, Dan wore pink again but with burgundy skinny jeans and the same flower crown as always. That boy was back, and Phil intentionally rammed his shoulder into him when he passed, then barked at him to watch it and resisted the urge to punch him in the gut. Dan rolled his eyes and grabbed the boy's arm, pulling him away. Phil glared after them, until Felix nudged him and asked if he'd seen some movie that had come out a week ago. Phil didn't really listen.

 

As Phil was walking out, Dan was by himself at his locker, and Phil was sexually attracted to his wrists. Phil tried to stare straight ahead, but he was doomed to fail as both he and the person he was avoiding were anything but straight. Dan had turned and blew him a kiss.

 

"Would you fucking stop that?" Phil shot.

 

"Stop what?" Dan asked innocently. Phil, angry and full of sexual tension, strode towards him, his worst glare on his face and he towered over Dan. A flicker of fear went through Dan's eyes, and it made Phil hesitate.

 

"You disgust me," Phil said, because he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Dan smelled like roses and the ocean.

 

"Aw, I'm hurt," Dan said, pouting up at Phil.

 

Phil glared at him, that scent was muddling his brain. Dan’s pout made him want to push him up against the lockers and bite his lip, then leave a trail of bruises down his neck and feel him get hard against –

 

"Teach the fairy a lesson!" Felix called abruptly, startling Phil out of his sex-crazed thoughts.

 

Dan smirked at Phil. "But if he were to teach me a lesson in the middle of the hallway, he'd get in big trouble and they'd hold him back another year."

 

"You little –” Phil snarled, both the anger and desire to pin him against the wall rising inside him.

 

Dan's smirk deepened; he stepped back and blew one more kiss. Phil couldn't take his sexual smiles and pursed lips anymore. He surged forward and seized Dan by the front of his shirt; there really was fear in Dan's eyes then as Phil shoved him into the lockers, lifting his feet from the ground, his face inches from Dan's. He heard people behind him chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!", though actually hitting Dan was the last thing on Phil’s mind just then.

 

"Do that one more time, you fucking fairy," Phil growled, and half of him hoped that Dan didn’t feel his growing hard on, while the rest of him wished that he would.

 

Dan's eyes never wavered from Phil’s as he mocked another kiss. Phil finally lost his will to resist. He growled again, this time it not out of anger. He crushed Dan's lips with his own and the chanting suddenly stopped. It took Dan a second to realize he was being kissed rather than beaten before he closed his eyes. Phil pushed his tongue inside Dan’s mouth, and he tasted sweeter than Phil had imagined. He still held him by the collar of his shirt, but now he pressed his whole body into Dan and kept him pinned between himself and the locker doors. He was rough against Dan’s lips and Dan was moaning softly, only just loud enough for Phil to hear and that made everything so much worse.

 

Phil lifted his lips and dropped Dan; the boy sank against the lockers with a dazed grin on his face.

 

"Fucking gay fairy," Phil said. Dan locked eyes with him and raised his eyebrows, that sexual smirk growing on his face. Phil looked around, the faces of everyone in the hallway were all stunned, every mouth was open and each eye was wide in shock. For a moment, he too was shocked by himself _(Oh shit, I just made out with my nemesis in front of the entire school… Oh fuck I just maDE OUT WITH A BOY IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE SCHOOL FUCK THEY KNOW I’M GAY)_ , but the rest of him was too preoccupied with how Dan’s lips had felt under his and getting to a place where he could continue roughly kissing Dan without being watched to care. "Oh, fuck off, the lot of you," Phil yelled at them, pissed and scared and defensive and a lot of other emotions. "I can be gay too." He grabbed Dan's hand and tugged him away, shoving through the crowd. He saw the boy who had been flirting with Dan over the week and stopped to glare at him.

 

"Stay away from my fairy," Phil told him, his voice was menacing and the boy looked afraid for his life as he nodded. Dan still had that dazed grin as they exited the school. Phil pulled him around to the back and immediately lifted him again to pin against the wall. Dan wriggled beneath him, making him growl again; Phil all but attacked Dan's neck, biting gently and sucking on spots that made Dan moan. Dan pulled his mouth back to his, biting his lip; Phil hadn't even realized that Dan had wrapped his legs around him but it made it ten times better when he pressed against him.

 

He didn't sit with Felix or Mark on Tuesday. They were both shocked and kind of horrified by Phil's display of gayness on the day before, but Phil didn't give enough fucks to fill a pencil box. He sat next to Dan, his arm around him, barely paying attention to any of the teachers. At lunch, instead of following the crowd to the cafeteria he pushed Dan into the bathroom and kissed him in a stall until Dan’s friend PJ came in and told them they had fifteen minutes before the next class if they wanted any lunch. Phil only reluctantly stopped, because his stomach was groaning almost as loudly as Dan had been. Making out with Dan Howell was his new favorite past-time.

 

In English, Mrs. Gilligan looked at Phil's arm curled possessively around Dan's shoulders and she actually laughed.

 

"George owes me twenty dollars," she said, talking about the history teacher. "He swore you'd keep up the charade that you didn’t like him until Valentine's Day, Mr. Lester."

 

Phil dropped his head onto Dan's chest with a groan of embarrassment. Mrs. Gilligan laughed again and told them they got to play Romeo and Juliet that day.

 

Phil only had one class that Dan wasn't in, and that was Spanish. Dan took French, which Phil thought was a lot sexier, but that meant that he couldn't play with Dan's hair or rub his thumb over his knuckles or whisper sarcastic comments about the class in his ear. Mark and Felix took French too, and it was their last class on Wednesday.

 

Phil waited at Dan's locker after the bell had rung. He checked his watch eight times in the space of one minute, but Dan was absent. Phil was very impatient, especially after having been separated from his boyfriend for an hour, so he pushed his way through the crowd towards the French classroom at the back of the building. He shoved the door open, expecting Dan to be talking with the teacher because Dan was a fucking nerd.

 

"What the hell did you do, you faggot!?"

 

Phil froze only for a second to realize what was happening. Mark had Dan shoved against the wall and Felix was hitting him.

 

"Did you sell your soul to make him gay too?" Mark said.

 

"That's the only way Phil would have stooped to your level," Felix spat.

 

Dan saw him, and there was terror in his eyes. Phil heard the thud of Felix’s hand colliding with Dan’s stomach again, saw Dan gasp for breath as the air was knocked from his lungs and he ran forward; he saw red as he yanked Mark back and hit him as hard as he could in the face. He heard a loud _CRACK_ and blood gushed from Mark's nose. Phil kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. Felix was already backing away, because Phil was always the one to beat the shit out of people and Felix knew it. Felix was scrawny, tiny compared to Phil’s biceps that were bigger than Felix’s head and 6 foot two enraged frame. He grabbed the front of Felix's shirt and slammed him into a desk.

 

"Back the fuck off!" Phil yelled. "You stay the hell away from him or I will fucking murder you." He threw Felix away, and he crashed into a chair. Phil kicked at Mark again, but Mark scrambled up and ran away, stumbling out of the room. Felix had hit his head rather hard, it seemed, as he ran into another desk as he fled. Phil's breathing was heavy from rage.

 

He turned around; Dan was slumped against the floor pinching his nose. Phil dropped to his knees, pulling him into his arms. Dan was limp, bruises already developing on his arms. Phil ripped part of his shirt off and pressed it to Dan's nose.

 

"That's your favorite shirt," Dan mumbled.

 

"Shh," Phil whispered. "It's fine, babe."

 

Dan was holding his ribs with his left arm, and Phil guessed he suffered from at least one bruised rib; he slipped an arm under his knees and lifted him up, cradling him gently. He carried him to the nurse's office, but it was empty so Phil took Dan to his car and pulled a first aid kit from his trunk.

 

"I'm so sorry," Phil said, pressing an ice-pack to Dan's eye, "I'm so sorry those assholes did this to you."

 

Dan only shook his head. There was blood on his shirt, and the bit of Phil's shirt was already soaked with the blood coming from Dan's nose. Phil softly kissed Dan's lips. His lower lip was bloody and cracked as well.

 

"I'll kill them," Phil said.

 

"You'd get caught and arrested, and what good would that do?"

 

Phil squeezed Dan's hands. "I'm so sorry, my fairy."

 

Dan looked at him, and he tried to smile but his split lip seemed to make it painful. "Look at that," he mumbled. "I'm your fairy."

 

Phil let out a short laugh. "Um, yeah, you are." He kissed Dan's forehead. "Let me take you back to my place, so you can get cleaned up." Dan just nodded, and Phil helped him sit back in the passenger seat before going around to get in the driver's seat. His home wasn't far; once he'd stopped the car he went to open Dan's door and put his arm around his waist to hold him up. Dan leaned on his shoulder, still clutching the bit of Phil's shirt to his bleeding nose. Phil's parents were both at work, and his older brother had been at university since September, so he took Dan up to his room and had him sit on the bed.

 

"Stay there," he commanded, and Dan just nodded again. He went to find a better stocked first aid kit and got some washcloths and a bowl of warm water. He gave Dan a washcloth to hold to his nose, and Phil started unbuttoning Dan's shirt.

 

"Am I too clothed for you, Romeo?" Dan mumbled. Phil went pink and shook his head.

 

"You've got blood on it," he told him. Dan shrugged it off and Phil tossed it towards his door. He took another washcloth and dipped in the water to wash the last of the blood off of Dan's hands. His nosebleed had stopped, and Phil wiped his face clean. Dan leaned against him, his arms going around his waist, and Phil kissed the top of his head.

 

"I'm so sorry," Phil whispered again.

 

"Stop apologizing," Dan muttered. "You saved me."

 

Phil had no clue how to respond, so he just kissed Dan's forehead again and held him closer.

 

"Can we lie down?" Dan asked, his voice soft. "My head hurts."

 

"Oh, let me get you some Advil." He let go of Dan and ran into the bathroom. He grabbed a pill bottle from a cupboard and went back to his room, where Dan had laid down on Phil's bedspread and was hugging one of Phil's pillows.

 

"I might get a little bit of blood all over your stuff," Dan told him.

 

"I don't care," Phil replied, shaking out two pills to hand to his boyfriend. There was a partially full glass of water on Phil's nightstand and Dan drank half of it. Then he lay down and held up his arms. Phil flicked the light off, then climbed up behind him and slipped an arm beneath his waist, then pulled him tight against his chest. It wasn't long before Dan fell asleep, and Phil began to gently stroke his hair because he still couldn't believe that he got to hold Dan.

 

Phil eventually fell asleep too, and that was how his mother found them some time later. Phil blearily opened an eye to see his mum standing in the doorway, her hands pressed to her mouth. For a second Phil panicked, thinking that her face was horrified by his arms around a boy, but then he saw that she was smiling behind her hands. Besides, his parents knew he was gay; they'd known longer than Phil had known.

 

"Mum?" he said groggily, only half sitting up to not disturb Dan.

 

"You've got a boyfriend!" his mother whispered excitedly.

 

"Go away!" Phil hissed, his face going red but his mother just laughed. She didn't notice the slight bruises Dan had in the dark of Phil's room, just that Dan was there and not wearing a shirt. His mother practically giggled as she left the room, and Phil flopped back onto his bed and hugged Dan closer. He stirred slightly, then shifted and turned round to face Phil.

 

"Hi," he murmured. Dan's breath fell on Phil's neck and it made him suck in his own breath.

 

"Hi, fairy," Phil said quietly, kissing Dan's nose.

 

"I'm a fucking fairy," Dan mumbled with a sleepy grin. Phil chuckled.

 

"My fucking fairy," Phil corrected.

 

Dan giggled and pecked his lips. "I'm your fucking fairy!"

 

"You're insane."

 

"I don't care." Dan snuggled into Phil's chest and Phil's hands rested on Dan's shoulder blades, and they were very nice shoulder blades. Phil reached for Dan's face and tilted it up to kiss him.

 

"Philip!"

 

Phil scowled against Dan's lips, then pulled back and looked up at his dad in the doorway. His father flicked the light on and Phil blinked at the attack on his retinas.

 

"You've got rules about this room, haven't you?" his dad said. "Especially,” his father wagged a scolding finger, “about being half-naked."

 

"Dan's not half naked!" Phil protested.

 

"This is a no sex house, Philip."

 

"Dad, we were just cuddling, oh my god."

 

Phil's father looked at him suspiciously. "I expect you two downstairs, and you ought to invite your boyfriend to stay for dinner because you have explaining to do, young man."

 

Phil was red in the face and Dan was laughing silently into his chest. Phil's father shook a scolding finger at them, then walked away. Phil sighed and looked at Dan.

 

"I would like to apologize," he said. "My dad is fucking weird."

 

"I think he's trying to avoid the subject of fucking, Phil."

 

"Oh, shut up," Phil said, letting go of Dan and slipping off the bed. "Call your parents and ask if you can stay for dinner."

 

"Can I have one of your shirts?"

 

Phil nodded, he was already opening a drawer. He pulled one out and tossed it to Dan. He tugged it over his head, and Phil felt like pinning him against the bed because he looked very sexy in a Black Veil Brides shirt. Phil wasn't even sure why he had that shirt because it just had Andy Biersack looking fierce with angel wings, but at the moment he did not care because damn, Daniel was hot.

 

"Um, come on, we should go downstairs," Phil said, clearing his throat. Dan got off of Phil's bed and approached him. He put his arms around Phil's neck and leaned his head back, smiling up at him. Why the hell did that make it difficult for Phil to breathe?

 

"I find it funny that your dad immediately tells you that you're not allowed to have sex and he doesn't even know my name," Dan said.

 

"I'm not allowed to have sex in the house," Phil corrected softly.

 

"Well, look at that, Romeo," Dan whispered. Phil kissed him before he could keep whispering in that soft voice of his, until Phil's dad yelled for them to come downstairs. Dan giggled at Phil's red face, then followed him to the ground floor. Dan texted his mom, who said he could stay for dinner because she would be working late anyway and apparently his dad was on a business trip to New York. Phil looked at him and asked how he could forget that one of his parents had left the country.

 

"It's not hard when you're around, Romeo," Dan told him. Phil's mum laughed because Phil's face wouldn't even fade from red to pink anymore.

 

His parents practically interrogated Dan, wanting to know all about their little boy's boyfriend. Phil just hoped his mother wouldn't break out the baby pictures and that his dad wouldn't remind them they couldn’t have sex in the house. That was a very sensitive topic ever since Martyn's high school days. His mum still shuddered thinking about it.

 

After dinner, Phil drove Dan home. He lived on the other side of school, in a little house with just one floor. Dan took him around back because he didn't have a key to the front door.

 

"It's a mess," Dan said, pausing by the door.

 

"I don't care," Phil replied.

 

"Like a giant mess. My mum doesn't pick up her work stuff and neither does my dad."

 

"What do they do?"

 

"Advertising," Dan said. "That's why my dad's in New York, pitching to a company." He unlocked the door, and had to hit it with his hip to get it open. He stepped inside, flicking on a light switch. Dan's kitchen wasn't messy, but when they moved into the dining room Phil saw the mess. There were papers pinned to the walls, scattered on every surface, and boxes of office supplies and books on the floor.

 

"This is their office practically," Dan said to Phil, "since there's just one floor and only a few rooms."

 

Phil nodded and Dan went through a door on the right. "Mum?" he called. He parted a blind to look outside. "She's not home yet."

 

"Er, are your parents like mine at all?"

 

"Not really, I don't think. Why? You want to have sex?" Dan asked with a smirk.

 

Phil went red but he rolled his eyes. "Well, yes, eventually. But my parents' don't like teenagers being alone in a house."

 

"Your parents are weirdly strict," Dan said with a raised eyebrow.

 

"Yeah, well, my older brother nearly got a girl pregnant a couple years ago and they've been paranoid ever since."

 

Dan raised an eyebrow. "Are they worried you'll get me pregnant?" Phil gave him a scornful look.

 

"Shut up," he muttered. Dan chuckled, then stepped forward and slipped his arms around him.

 

"Thank you," he murmured. "For rescuing me."

 

Phil kissed the top of Dan's head. "Any time," he whispered.

 

Dan smiled against Phil's shirt. Phil inhaled deeply the smell of his hair, the ocean and roses; it was a scent intoxicating, filling him with euphoria as if it was heroin.

 

“What time do you have to be home by?” Dan asked him.

 

“Erm, before midnight, I think. I dunno, that’s the one thing they’re not strict about.”

 

“My mum won’t be back for at least an hour.”

 

“Yeah?” Phil murmured, a smile growing on his face. Dan was already pressing against him closely, and his voice was that soft tone that drove Phil wild.

 

“Wanna get wrecked at Mario Kart?”

 

Phil laughed, half because he wasn’t expecting it and half because it was exactly what Dan would say. “I wouldn’t say I would want to be wrecked, but I’m pretty shit at Mario Kart.”

 

Dan left his embrace, instead grabbing his hand and tugging him into the next room. Phil dropped onto the sofa while Dan turned on the TV and Wii. “I’m rather incredible at Mario Kart,” Dan said over his shoulder; he handed Phil a controller and sat down beside him.

 

“Are you, now?” Phil questioned.

 

“Yep. Got magic fingers, y’know.”

 

Phil blushed and Dan winked at him; Phil wondered how that much sexualness could fit into Dan’s small body. Without reason, he also wondered how that small body would feel underneath him; that was mostly why his face became even redder.

 

Dan was indeed incredible at Mario Kart, and Phil lost each round to him until Dan suggested they form a team, with Dan driving and Phil throwing items, at which point they began to destroy all the NPC’s. They won the next campaign, and as their kart made its victory rounds on the last track, Dan put an arm around Phil and kissed him on the cheek.

 

“You’re decent,” he said, flashing his dimples at Phil.

 

“Well, you’re good,” Phil shot back.

 

“I’m brilliant.”

 

“Possibly.”

 

“I’ve got nimble hands.”

 

Phil’s breath hitched and he went red; Dan was leaning on his shoulders, and in the dim light cast by the TV screen, his skin was washed pink and his wrists, always on Phil’s mind, looked like they had been carved by Michelangelo.

 

Dan glanced at him, his smile warm with dimples; “Shall we play more or a different game?”

 

Phil dropped his controller, instead slipping his hands around Dan’s waist and drawing him closer for a soft kiss. Dan’s lips tasted sweet from the ice cream they’d had after dinner, like French vanilla and Hershey’s syrup. The kiss was sweet as the taste, not fast or intense like every other kiss they’d had. This kiss held warmth in it, warmth that reminded him of buttered rum that he’d once tasted at a family gathering. Dan’s arms held his waist loosely, his lips smiling as they pressed against Phil’s. Phil pulled back, then rested his forehead against Dan’s. Phil could get lost in Dan’s eyes, in pools of gold flecked chocolate. Phil brushed his knuckles across his cheek, and Dan’s eyes fluttered shut.

 

“Dan? I’m home!”

 

Dan’s mother had the worst timing; Dan jolted back, then jumped up from the couch like he was escaping a snake and darted to the entrance of the sitting room, leaving Phil with his hand still raised.

 

“Hi, Mum!” Dan said, his voice just a touch higher than normal. Phil stood up, pushing his hands into his pockets awkwardly. Dan’s mother stepped into the foyer, and her eyes landed on Phil.

 

“Hello,” she said to Dan, but she sounded distracted; Dan gave her a quick hug and she kissed his cheek, her eyes flicking back to Phil. “Who’s your friend?”

 

“Um, this is Phil,” Dan said, not looking back at him. Phil could hear in his voice that something was wrong. “I texted you earlier that I was having dinner at a friend’s house.”

 

“Oh, yes, of course.” Mrs. Howell moved around Dan and held out a hand to Phil; he extracted one from his pocket and shook hers. “Lovely to meet you, Phil.” There was something uneasy about her smile.

 

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Howell,” Phil said, giving her a friendly smile. Dan was staring at his feet now.

 

His mother released his hand and turned back to Dan. “Sweetheart, I’ve got an early meeting tomorrow and I’m afraid can’t drive you to school.”

 

Dan looked disappointed, but not surprised. “It’s fine, I’ll take the bus.”

 

“I could – ,” Phil began but as Mrs. Howell looked back to him, Dan lifted his gaze and he quickly shook his head. Phil faltered, and Dan’s mother raised her eyebrows.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Never mind,” Phil mumbled, looking down. “I actually should be going home, it’s late. I’ll see you at school, Dan.”

 

“Bye Phil,” Dan said, his voice was pleasant but guarded as well.

 

“Bye, then,” Mrs. Howell said. Phil showed himself to the back door, but as he opened it, he heard Mrs. Howell’s voice whispering: “I don’t like the look of him, Dan.”

 

Phil shut the door as gently as he could, resisting an urge to slam it. He didn’t want to hear what Dan’s reply would be; he strode to his car and got in, shutting the door firmly. He sparked the engine, and drove away. Phil exhaled very slowly; the ten minute drive felt like an hour, and by the time he parked in front of his house, his hands had begun to shake. He could guess what was wrong. He couldn’t be sure.

 

Phil’s voice beeped, and he snatched it up to check it.

 

from Fairy < 3: _I’m not out to my parents._

 

Phil let out a hiss of breath and his head fell back against the seat. He had been right. He sat there for a moment, trying to think how to respond. He finally replied with simply It’s okay because he knew that if he took any longer Dan would worry. Phil popped open the door, unfolded his lanky frame from the car, and walked up to his front door with his hands pushed into the pockets of his jeans.

 

“Phil?” his mother called as he opened the door.

 

“Yeah, I’m back.”

 

“Does Dan live very far away?”

 

“No, we just stopped to play video games until his mum got home.”

 

Phil’s mother came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. As her eyes met his, her expression fell. “Are you alright, sweetheart?”

 

“Yeah,” Phil brushed it off, giving his mother a smile. “It’s fine.”

 

His mother had that expression that clearly said that she didn’t believe him, but that she was trying to. “Alright then,” she said. “You ought to get to sleep, there’s still school tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah,” he said again. He took the stairs two at a time before she could say anything else. Phil didn’t bother changing, he just collapsed onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Then he grabbed the pillow beside him and hugged it to his face, because it still smelled like Dan.

 

Phil woke up before his alarm, but he lay there in the darkness until it went off in that early morning sludge where you reassess your life and wonder if it really is worth it to get out of bed. He switched off his alarm and pushed back the blankets because he knew he had to get up, he had to talk to Dan. He changed his clothes, and dropped the ones he’d slept in in the hamper behind his door. He stopped, spotting the shirt Dan had left on his floor. He picked it up and ran his fingers over it, inhaling the faint scent of Dan and dried blood. He dropped it into his hamper, thinking that he would have to wash it later. Phil brushed his teeth before going down to the first floor, his phone, wallet, and keys in the pockets of his cargo pants.

 

“Morning!” his mother said.

 

“Morning,” Phil mumbled. He grabbed a cereal box and a bowl, preparing his breakfast.

 

“Remember, it’s taco night tonight so don’t spend all day with your lovely new boyfriend.”

 

Phil nodded; his family went to a local Mexican restaurant every other Thursday night, but his mother always reminded him despite the fact that it had been his idea in the first place.

 

“Morning, all!” Phil’s father called. “I’ve got to rush, Catherine, Dave’s stuck me with the timesheets this week.”

 

“Come and get your breakfast first!”

 

Phil’s dad entered the kitchen and took the eggs and toast his mother offered him. “Have a lovely day, dear,” she told him as he kissed her cheek.

 

“You too,” he replied. “Have a good day, son.”

 

Phil waved as his dad left through the kitchen door. He leaned against the counter to eat his cereal, only half listening to his mother talking about a client she wasn’t looking forward to dealing with later that day. She worked in a pet store as a groomer, and there was apparently one lady who wanted her poodle to look precisely like a marshmallow. Phil put his bowl and spoon in the dishwasher as soon as he was finished and gave his mum a quick hug.

 

“I’ve got to go,” he said. “I’ll see you later.”

 

“Have a good day!”

 

Phil walked out to his car, he checked his phone, and as he unlocked the driver’s side door, he saw a text from Dan.

 

from Fairy< 3: _I actually think I’d like a ride_

 

Phil raised an eyebrow, pausing to reply before starting the engine.

 

to Fairy < 3: _wouldn’t ur mum not be happy?_

 

from Fairy _3: She left an hour ago_

 

That was all the incentive he needed. Phil sent him a yes and turned the key in the ignition. He went over the speed limit in more than one place in his hurry.

 

He went to the back door, and knocked. Dan opened it, and stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. He was wearing a lavender jumper that morning, white jeans and flat white earrings as well as his usual white and lavender flower crown. Phil had to admit that he found Dan’s look pretty sexy. He waited until after Dan had locked the back door before hugging him.

 

“Hi,” he murmured.

 

Dan buried his face in Phil’s shirt, which meant that his “hello” was muffled. Phil slipped a finger beneath Dan’s chin and tilted it up so he could kiss him.

 

“I’m sorry,” Dan said before Phil could lower his head.

 

“About what?”

 

“Not telling you that I’m still in the closet.”

 

“You’re not really in the closet,” Phil said. “Just ducking back into it when your parents come around.”

 

That made Dan smile, and Phil got to kiss him. “I don’t mind,” Phil continued. “I get it.”

 

“I’m glad you were okay with coming out,” Dan said. “I know how scary it is and I'm glad that you didn’t run away after you kissed me.”

 

Phil chuckled, blushing slightly. “I think I less came out of the closet and more jumpscared everyone like a fucking Freddy Fazbear or something.”

 

Dan laughed, and Phil’s smile grew sweeter. “It was rather startling. I did think you were about to beat the shit out of me.”

 

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

 

Dan pecked his lips, smiling wide enough to produce dimples. “I forgive you, Romeo.”

 

“Then shall we sojourn to school, my fucking fairy?” Phil suggested. Dan giggled.

 

“You don’t have the nerdiness to pull off ‘sojourn’,” Dan said as they walked to his car.

 

“That’s what you think,” Phil corrected. He opened Dan’s door out of habit, and Dan smiled warmly at him. Before shutting it, Phil leaned in and added: “I’m secretly a giant nerd.”

 

Dan’s laughter was his favorite song.

 

As Phil pulled out of the driveway, he glanced sideways at Dan. He was sitting with his hands in his lap, looking at the road with a content expression. Phil reached over and took one of his hands, giving it a squeeze. Dan looked back at him and smiled.

 

"It really is okay," Phil reminded him. "About your family. Don't feel pressured to come out to them just because of me."

 

Dan's smile changed, becoming perhaps a little sadder and yet sweeter. "Thank you, Phil. That means a lot to me, actually."

 

"You're welcome," Phil replied, then added with a wink: "Any time you find yourself home alone, though, you call me."

 

Dan laughed again, and Phil smirked. "I'll keep that in mind," Dan said, his laughter bleeding into his words.

 

Phil gave him a little smile, his gaze switching back to the road. He kept holding Dan's hand; it was a lot smaller than Phil's, he realized. Dan in general was smaller than him. It felt good to hold his hand, as if it fit better than any other hand would have. Not that Phil had a lot of experience holding hands with people; Dan was the first boy he'd acted on his attraction to, but he'd dated a few girls briefly during the years at high school to boost his reputation and ego. Hand-holding though, that wasn't part of it.

 

They arrived at school just as the last of the school buses were emptying. Phil parked the car in his normal spot, and noticed Mark's sedan a few rows away. It wasn't actually Mark's car, of course, it was his dad's that he was occasionally given permission to drive. That was probably the only reason Phil didn't stab one of the tires with his switchblade; Mark's dad was a decent person, unfortunately unlike his son. Phil opened Dan's door for him again, and coiled an arm around his waist protectively as they began to walk towards the school entrance.

 

“Think Mrs. Gilligan will have us be Romeo and Juliet in English again today?” Dan asked.

 

“Possibly,” Phil replied, half listening at that point. He’d spotted Mark and Felix standing near the doors, talking with some of their other friends in low voices. Dan saw them too and pressed a little closer into Phil’s side. Emma, one of his few female friends, elbowed Mark in the ribs and pointed to them. Mark looked up, before glancing back at Emma. Emma looked angry with him, and judging from the looks she was giving Felix she was angry at him too. Irish Jack said something to them, which Joe seemed to take offense to.

 

“What are they talking about?” Dan muttered.

 

“I don’t know,” Phil said. “I don’t really care.”

 

“Phil!”

 

He looked back at Emma’s voice calling him. “What?” he shouted.

 

“Come here!”

 

“Fuck off!”

 

“Come here now!”

 

Phil sighed, “She’s not going to stop until I go over there.”

 

“Should I come too?”

 

“Yeah, I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

 

Dan giggled softly, and Phil and he made their way over to where they were standing. “What do you want?” he asked bluntly.

 

“Mark and Felix have something to say to you,” Emma said, looking at them. Mark was staring at his feet and Felix at the school’s header. “Boys...” Emma said warningly.

 

“We’re sorry,” Mark mumbled, and it sounded like it pained him. “We’re homophobic assholes and deserve to be drawn and quartered.”

 

“Em told you to say that,” Phil said.

 

“How’d you know?” Mark finally looked up, slightly confused.

 

“You don’t know what drawn and quartered means.”

 

Mark considered this, then shrugged. “I don’t.”

 

“You do deserve it though,” Phil snapped.

 

“Phil,” Dan whispered.

 

“What?” he asked, looking down at him. “They do!”

 

“They’re apologizing.”

 

“That doesn’t change the fact that they’re homophobic assholes.”

 

“We’re trying not to be,” Felix said. “We still want to be your friends and support your life choices.”

 

“You don’t want to be friends with me, you want to be friends with my car and my PlayStation and the cigarettes I can buy,” Phil retorted. “You can fuck off, the both of you. I’m not interested in anything you have to say.”

 

Mark looked to Emma with an expression of _“I told you he’d say that!”_. Emma rolled her eyes at Mark.

 

“He doesn’t have to forgive you, you just had to apologize,” she told him. “You can run off now, go on.”

 

“But – ”

 

“Run along, little asshole!” Phil said. “Before I beat the shit out of you again.”

 

Felix gave him the middle finger, and he and Mark pushed past the rest of the group to enter the school building. Phil looked around at the rest of them, scanning each face; Emma, Jack, Joe, Tyler, and Luke all looked back at him seriously.

 

“If any of you’ve still got a problem with Dan,” he began, “you can walk away now. As long as you leave us alone, I’ll leave you alone but if you so even twitch in Dan’s direction, I swear I’ll break every bone in your bodies.”

 

“We don’t care, mate,” Jack said.

 

“Honestly, I was getting tired of waiting for you to make a move,” Tyler announced.

 

“Shut up, Tyler,” Phil said, but he didn’t mean it. Tyler was the only other person he’d been out to before he’d kissed Dan, mostly because Tyler was just as openly gay as Dan. Truth be told, he’d felt comfortable being out to Tyler because Tyler was one of his best friends apart from Mark and Felix. And considering since Mark and Felix were homophobic assholes, that made Tyler his best friend.

 

“We support you and your gayness,” Emma told him with a firm nod, her short purple hair jostling in the breeze of her movement. “It does not matter to us.”

 

“Mark and Felix will come along,” Joe spoke up. “They’re just startled, and probably jealous now that you’ve got someone you’ll be spending more time with.”

 

“They’re both assholes,” Phil said with a shrug. “I don’t care if they never speak to me again.”

 

“Yeah, but Mark will probably be your best man at your wedding once he’s pulled his head out of his ass,” Joe shot. Phil rolled his eyes.

 

“IF he ever pulls his head out of his ass,” Luke snorted.

 

“It is a very nice ass,” Tyler commented.

 

Both Luke and Joe facepalmed, but the rest of the group laughed, even Phil. But then the bell was ringing, and they had to move inside to get to their first class. Phil had to admit that he felt better that his friends were with him, even if Mark and Felix weren’t. Sure, Mark and Felix had always been assholes and painfully straight, but they had been his closest friends for a long while. They were the ones who’d convinced him to get his first tattoo, and had been there for him when he got held back the year before. But they’d both been homophobic all along, even if he hadn’t realized it or just ignored it, and it was good now that he had come out and distanced himself from them. It would be good. He’d just have to stop feeling betrayed first.

 

After their last class – English, in which they finally bid Romeo and Juliet farewell –, Phil led Dan from the building back to his car, an arm around his waist with his hand in Dan's back pocket. He didn't care that people were still staring and whispering; the people that mattered to him didn't care, and that was all he bothered to think about. Let the peasants stare, he thought. It would prove his good fortune.

 

“So what do you want to do?” Phil asked his boyfriend after they'd gotten into his car and exited the school parking lot.

 

“What d’you mean?” Dan asked him.

 

“I dunno, do you want to go home, do you want to go back to my house, do you want to go wander the streets of this pathetic town?”

 

Dan let out a soft laugh, his smile forming dimples in his cheeks. “Let's just go back to my house, we're guaranteed privacy until at least seven.”

 

Phil grinned at him. “I like that plan.”

 

Dan shot him a dimpled smile, then he took out his phone and unlocked it, pulling up his music. “What do you want to listen to?”

 

“Whatever you're in the mood for, babe,” Phil replied with ease.

 

“If you insist,” Dan said with a smirk; he found a song and set the phone on the dashboard. Phil frowned at the opening notes, it was a soft tune, definitely electronic but not quite pop.

 

“What is this?” he asked.

 

“Melanie Martinez,” he replied, but left it at that.

 

_**“I'm frosting, I don't need a man to make my life sweet. Prince charming just isn't the one that I think I need.”** _

 

Phil raised a studded eyebrow, wondering if Dan was sending him a musical message.

 

_**“You're thirsty, you think I give out my shit for free? I'm bursting out laughing at idiocy, ehhehe.”** _

 

“What is this?” Phil asked with a laugh.

 

“Just listen!” Dan hushed him. Phil shook his head, but he was still smiling.

 

_**“I need a gingerbread man, the one I'll feed. A gingerbread man, the one I'll eat.”** _

 

Phil raised both eyebrows then. He was perfectly willing to be Dan's gingerbread man in that situation.

 

**_“One who's always crazy, never calls me baby; that's the one that I want, all you boys are not him.”_ **

 

Phil let out another chuckle, rolling the car to a stop at a red light, and looked back at his boyfriend. “Are you trying to tell me something, fairy?”

 

“Only if you're listening, Romeo,” answered Dan with a soft smirk.

 

Phil’s lips curled in a smirk of his own, turning back to face the road. He moved his foot from the brake pedal to the gas, accelerating gently.

 

_**“I'm the icing covering his body. I wanna hold him so close, so tightly. Baby how do I put this politely; love me hard, and don't be nice please. I wanna feel your crumbs all over my body. I wanna break you into pieces like me. Baby, don't be so scared of biting. Wanna eat each other into nothing.”** _

 

Phil looked over at Dan, a wide grin taking over his face. “Y'know, I like this song,” he said.

 

Dan laughed. “I hoped you would.”

 

Phil turned back to the road with a smirk, wishing that Dan's house wasn't so far away.

 

Phil did his best not to speed, but he still had them back at Dan's house within half an hour. He put the car in park then turned the key in the ignition. Phil opened his door and jumped out, running around to the other side to open Dan's door before he even released his seat-belt.

 

“Look at that,” Dan said with a little laugh, “a gentleman.”

 

“Wait til we get inside,” Phil replied with a smirk. He held out his hand to Dan, who took it with a smile; Phil pulled him close quickly, one arm encircling his waist and pinning him to his chest, and traced a finger down his jaw. “I'm not planning on being so gentlemanly then.”

 

“Oh?” Dan murmured, fluttering his eyelashes with a sultry smile.

 

Phi lowered his lips to whisper in his ear. “I'd love to be your gingerbread man.”

 

Dan grinned, a little blush filling his cheeks. “What an excellent idea, Romeo,” he breathed, pressing his body tightly to Phil's. He pecked his lips, then stole away, darting towards the house and privacy. Phil quickly locked his car with his remote key then slammed the door shut and ran after Dan. He found the back door open, and pulled it closed behind him.

 

“Dan?” Phil called.

 

“Here, Romeo,” answered Dan. Phil followed the sound into the kitchen, where Dan was standing with his hands clasped patiently behind his back and an expectant smile curling his pink lips.

 

“I've been looking forward to this,” Phil said, striding forward. “The thought of you has kept me up late so many nights.”

 

“Naughty boy, Romeo,” Dan purred. “Don't you know it's rude to dream of someone and never tell them?”

 

“I'm telling you now, aren't I?” Phil murmured, taking another step closer.

 

“What have you dreamt?” Dan asked in a whisper.

 

“Of kissing you hard enough to bruise,” answered Phil in a low, deep voice. “Of pinning you beneath me and making you squirm, leaving the bite marks all over your body, of making you scream my name until your throat is raw and longer, while I fuck you to heaven and back.”

 

“How long have you been dreaming?” Dan asked in a breathy whisper.

 

Phil slipped his arms around Dan's waist, locking them in place and Dan against his chest. “Since before I can remember. Since I first saw you,” Phil pressed his lips to Dan's jaw, then to his ear and he arched his neck so Phil nuzzled his nose against Dan's neck, “in your tight white jeans and long sweater sleeves and this damn flower crown; all I've wanted is to rip it all off you.”

 

“Do it,” mumbled Dan; his eyes were closed and his mouth open, and Phil could already feel that Dan was hard, so he squeezed his arms tighter to press even closer against him and the feeling of him made Phil’s blood surge faster and downward. “God, Phil, fuck me until I scream.”

 

“Gladly, my fairy,” Phil whispered, his heart beating even faster now. “Where's your room?”

 

“I don't even know anymore Phil,” muttered Dan. Phil chuckled, pressing another kiss to Dan's jaw. He bent and slipped his arms under Dan's knees, lifting him up in a cradle. He glanced at the tent in Dan's jeans, then grinned at him as he stepped out of the kitchen, into the paper covered office.

 

“That door,” Dan said, gesturing vaguely towards an ajar door to the right. “Hurry.”

 

Phil smirked; he stepped over a box and kicked the door open with his foot. Dan shut it behind him, then he locked his hands behind Phil's head and kissed him, quick and needy. Phil gave him a chuckle from somewhere deep in his throat, and Dan moaned softly in response.

 

Phil barely looked around the room before spotting Dan's bed; he tossed Dan onto it, who gasped a little then laughed. Phil knelt over him, straddling his hips, and kissed his lips roughly, pushing his tongue into Dan's mouth. Dan gripped his hair, letting out little moans; his hips bucked against Phil's, so Phil softly pressed down against him. He trailed his lips in open mouthed kisses from Dan's mouth to his jaw and down to his neck; Phil pulled at the top of Dan's jumper and sucked on his collarbone, becoming more and more riled by each of Dan's moans.

 

“I want to eat you like a gingerbread man,” Phil murmured. “I want to mark every inch of your skin.”

 

Dan grabbed his lips again, kissing him with a need that Phil felt in his bones. Phil's hands caught the bottom hem of Dan's sweater and dragged it upward, his hands ran over Dan chest and he felt the racing beat of his heart. He pulled it up and over Dan's head, then lowered his mouth to kiss and suck hickeys into his skin.

 

“Oh god, Phil,” Dan breathed, his whispered words stirring heat further into Phil.

 

“I want to fuck you until you blackout from pleasure, my fairy,” Phil mumbled; he set his mouth over Dan's collar bone and gently bit at the skin, then sucked hard.

 

“Do it, Phil, oh, just do it,” muttered Dan.

 

“Where's your lube?” asked Phil, already pulling his wallet from his jeans and fumbling to take out the condom he kept in it.

 

“Under the bed,” Dan mumbled.

 

“You just stay there, fairy,” Phil said, lifting himself off of Dan and dropping to the floor to look.

 

“I'm waiting,” Dan said.

 

“Patience, Danny,” Phil commanded. He spotted a box among books and piles of clothes and pulled it out to look in it.

 

“I'm not any good with patience, Phil,” Dan sighed.

 

Phil raised an eyebrow and smirked at the box's contents; he and Dan would have to play with those later. He grabbed the lube and shoved the box back under the bed-skirt. He straightened, then smiled down at Dan lying before him, his chest rising and falling rapidly with his panting breath, his jeans straining at the clasp. Phil knelt on the bed again, and, dropping the tube, placed his hands on Dan's waist. He ran them up over his chest, then down to the top of his jeans. With deft fingers, he unbuttoned them and pulled the zip down. Dan's eyes fluttered shut as Phil pulled away the fabric blocking him.

 

“You're so beautiful, Dan,” Phil whispered, leaning down and kissing his lips. “You're fucking beautiful like a fucking fairy.”

 

“Then fuck me, Romeo,” Dan murmured. “Don't be nice.”

 

Phil laughed softly. “I'm not nice,” he muttered, then dragged his lips down from Dan's, down, sucking and biting at his skin. He made a work of art with his lips, drawing on alabaster skin flushed with blood. Then again, Dan already was a work of art.

 

Dan trembled before him, his moans filled the air and Phil's brain. Phil whispered words of filthy pleasure to him as he jerked him off, then turned him over and drove Dan to cry aloud Phil's name.

 

Phil balled up and tossed aside the used condom, looking down at Dan lying on his side from where he'd fallen after Phil had pulled out. He was panting, his bare sweaty chest rising and falling in rapid succession, and a broad grin of satisfaction brought out his dimples.

 

“Phil, after that, I'm never ever letting go of you,” Dan murmured. Phil smirked and bent over him to press his lips to Dan's.

 

“Perfectly fine with me, fairy,” Phil whispered against his lips.

 

Dan grinned again, linking his arms around Phil's neck. Phil kissed him again, softer this time, then pulled back to admire the marks he'd left on Dan's skin.

 

“You're going to have to wear a turtleneck or something if you don't want your mum seeing all this,” Phil said with a chuckle, running his finger from a bruise at the crevice of his neck and shoulder to another hickey at his collarbone, to a third on his chest.

 

“Yeah, probably,” Dan mumbled with a slightly crestfallen expression. “But tomorrow I'm going to show these off.”

 

Phil's lips curled in a smug smirk. “I like that plan,” he murmured.

 

“But I didn't get to leave many marks on you,” Dan said with a pout.

 

Phil laughed, then lifted himself off of Dan and flopped onto his side. “Jealous much, my fairy?”

 

Dan pushed himself up to a sitting position, his hands slipping to Phil's chest and resting at his shoulders.

 

“Y’know, it's not quite fair, this situation,” he murmured.

 

“Why's that?” Phil asked.

 

“Well, I'm completely exposed, but you're still wearing all this,” Dan answered with sulking eyes, gesturing to Phil’s sleeveless shirt and the boxers he’d put back on just a moment before.

 

Phil's lip curled in a smirk. “What are you going to do about it?”

 

“Hmmm…” Dan trailed a finger from Phil's shoulder to his chest, then down to his navel. “I'd like to even out the situation.” He hooked a finger underneath the hem of Phil's shirt and dragged it upward, slowly, running his fingers over the curve of his stomach to his chest. Phil's breathing quickened again, as Dan pressed his palm against the middle of his chest. Phil grabbed his shirt and yanked it over his head, making Dan chuckle. “Didn’t I hear something about patience earlier, Romeo?” he murmured with a slight smile of wicked intentions.

 

“Fuck patience,” Phil growled, slipping his hands around Dan’s neck and pulling him down to kiss him. Dan’s lips slanted on his own, and Phil felt his fingers creeping down from his chest towards his stomach. The sensation, the faintest touch, sent delightful shivers down his spine to where it felt best. When Dan’s hands came to a stop at Phil’s boxers, he slipped his mouth away to Phil’s neck, where he immediately began to suck in a bruise. Dan’s hand travelled further, and Phil pressed upward against it, making Dan laugh. Phil’s eyes were closed, his muscles tense with the sensations. Dan’s hand dipped down, gently caressing his skin, then pushed aside the fabric. His lips moved to Phil’s ear and he bit down on the helix of his cartilage, making a clink of teeth and metal. His fingers were cold but felt perfect; Phil gave a growl from the back of his throat, and Dan kissed his jaw line.

 

“Does that feel good, Romeo?” Dan murmured against his ear.

 

Phil didn’t trust himself to speak in any recognizable language, so he nodded quickly. Dan laughed softly again and touched his lips to his jaw again, this time in an open mouth kiss. Phil caught his lips with his own and Dan bit his lip, making Phil grin.

 

“You sure are a biter, fairy,” Phil mumbled.

 

“Hmm, you love it,” Dan replied with a little giggle.

 

“Hell yeah I do,” Phil muttered. Dan pulled back, making Phil sit up a little, but Dan pressed down on his shoulder with a smirk.

 

“I’m not through kissing you, don’t worry,” he said. He lowered his mouth once more, and Phil shut his eyes and moaned.

 

“Dan,” he breathed, not even knowing what he wanted to say.

 

“Shhh,” admonished his fairy, his heavenly fairy, “I’m busy.”

 

“Oh, you’re incredible.”

 

“You like this?”

 

“Fuck yes.”

 

“Good,” Dan nearly purred; his voice alone set a fire blazing through Phil’s mind.

 

Something beeped nearby, however both boys ignored it; rather, neither of them heard it. Phil could think of nothing but Dan’s lips.

 

“Dan,” he murmured, “Dan, I’m – god – I’m about to come…”

 

“Well, good, I’d like to be rewarded for all my hard work.” Dan flashed him his dimples; Phil gave an involuntary grin, because he couldn’t believe he’d managed to end up like this. It was a dream come true.

 

Dan made Phil rock with the orgasm, his voice rising in vocal pleasure. Phil fell back panting, and Dan lay down beside him, draping an arm across Phil’s chest and resting his head on his shoulder.


	2. part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone knew of Phil Lester’s deep hatred for Dan Howell. Everyone knew that Dan Howell was the gayest gay man to ever gay. Everyone assumed that Phil hated Dan because Dan would not stop hitting on Phil, and everyone agreed that even they would be irritated by that much flirting, however everyone did not know or even guess that Phil Lester really hated Dan Howell so much because Phil actually wanted to make out with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WRITTEN FOR PHANDOMBIGBANG~  
> Hello, thanks so much for reading this fic. This is my first real phanfic, at least it’s the first I’ve published. This whole experience with Phandom Big Bang has been amazing. I wanna thank my beta, my artist for this fic, and my wife who asked me to write this. Well, she’s not really my wife, I just call her that. Platonic wife, y’know? Because we bicker like an old married couple and I write things for her from time to time. Anyway, thanks to all those people, and here’s the fic. I don’t write very long A/N’s.  
> Fanart: http://nymphdan.tumblr.com/post/153181616031/i-think-im-falling-in-love-hi-hi-hi-3-this

 

* * *

_**part two** _

 

 

“After-sex cuddles are a requirement,” Dan whispered, his breath tingling on Phil’s skin.

 

“Sure,” Phil muttered, still a little out of breath. Dan squirmed closer, nuzzling his cheek against Phil’s shoulder, and Phil shifted a little to lock his arms around him. “Dan, you’re amazing,” he said softly.

 

Dan’s cheeks flushed, and Phil felt the heat transfer from Dan’s skin to his own. “You’re amazing,” Dan mumbled quietly.

 

“We’re both amazing, but you’re especially amazing.”

 

“Thank you, Romeo.”

 

Phil touched a finger to Dan’s chin and gently tilted Dan’s head back. He pressed his lips to his in a soft kiss. “Thank you.”

 

Dan smiled, his adorable dimples showing. Phil kissed one of them quickly, making Dan giggle.

 

Then something beeped again, and Dan lifted his head to look around. “Was that my phone?” he said.

 

“I don’t know, and I don’t care, I’m not done with you.”

 

Dan playfully batted Phil away, sitting up and scooting his beautiful little ass to the edge of the bed, where he bent over and fished around for his pants. Phil sat up on his elbows, watching as Dan found his phone and woke the screen. His eyes traveled down the curve of his spine, down his pale skin pressed against taut muscles; a smirk curved his lip.

 

“SHIT!” Dan suddenly gasped.

 

“What?” Phil asked, sitting bolt upright and bending to look at Dan’s phone.

 

“My mum will be here any minute, shit!” Dan flung his phone onto the bed and grabbed his jeans and underwear off the floor. “Quick, get dressed!”

 

Phil shrugged and grabbed his boxers off the floor from where Dan had dropped them, pulling them on quickly while he watched Dan pull on his own clothes. Dan tossed Phil’s shirt to him and then tugged on his own lavender jumper.

 

“Do I need to leave?” Phil asked, shrugging his shirt back on.

 

“Um, I don’t know, I mean, my mum doesn’t particularly like you yet, but that’s just because of your tattoos,” Dan spoke incredibly quickly as he grabbed the bottle of lube off the floor and threw it under the bed. “She’s not very strict about my friends, I don’t think you’d have to leave – ”

 

“Dan, I’m home!”

 

“Shit!” Dan hissed. He looked around the room again, then kicked Phil’s shoes towards him. “Put those back on, quick,” he said quickly, and Phil bent to tug his boots back on.

 

“Dan, where are you? I was going to order pizza, unless you’d rather have something else.”

 

“In my room, just a minute,” Dan called. “Um, does it look like I’ve just had sex?” he asked in a hushed voice.

 

“Incredible sex,” Phil answered with a chuckle. Dan flushed again.

 

“That doesn’t help!” Dan muttered. “Um, my neck, how many hickeys are on my neck?”

 

“You should just get a collared shirt,” Phil said.

 

Dan darted to his closet and, yanking a white button up from it, he turned back and tugged the jumper off; he quickly pulled the partially buttoned shirt on, then did up the rest of the buttons and pulled the sweater back over it. “How about now?”

 

Phil slid off the bed and stepped towards him; he touched both hands to Dan’s jaw, then turned his head in each direction to examine his neck. “Nope, they’re all lower than your collar. Well, there’s one right at the edge but it’s pretty faint.”

 

“Good,” Dan sighed. Then he suddenly tilted Phil’s head, and groaned. “No, I left one on your jaw!”

 

“So? She won’t know you did it.”

 

“Dan, pizza or something else?”

 

“Um, pizza, one second, we’ll be finished in a moment.”

 

“We? Dan, have you got someone over?”

 

Dan hissed another curse. “Yes, my friend Phil,” Dan paused. “He dropped me off after school.”

 

“Oh. How… nice.”

 

“We were just doing homework,” Dan said, lying rather easily. He slipped under Phil’s arm and grabbed a notebook and textbook off the floor, which after checking the front cover, he tossed to Phil; the book hit him in the chest and made Phil grunt softly. “Our Biology teacher asked us to work on that genetics project in pairs.”

 

“Oh, how’s it coming?”

 

“Excellent,” Phil said. “We’ve nearly done with it.” Then in a quieter hiss he said to Dan: “What genetics project?”

 

“There isn’t one, but she’ll think I mentioned it before and she’s just forgotten about it; she’s pretty scatterbrained sometimes.”

 

“Oh, good; if I missed another assignment, the old man would flunk me,” Phil mumbled.

 

“I’ll help you with your grades later, just…” Dan grabbed a pen off of the desk and flicked it over his left palm, then grabbed the notebook from Phil and hastily scribbled on the back cover, which he pressed the side of his hand to to imitate ink smudges from his hand dragging across the page. He capped the pen and stuck it behind his ear.

 

“Dan, what have I told you about leaving your things all over the house?” called Mrs. Howell; “This flower crown does not belong on my mother’s china cabinet.”

 

Dan looked slightly guilty; “It must have fallen off when you picked me up,” he muttered. Then, louder, “Sorry, mum, I forgot about it.”

 

“Is this… Phil, right? Is he staying for dinner?”

 

Dan glanced at him, but Phil shook his head. “No, I’ve got dinner with my family, sorry.”

 

“No, mum, he’s not.”

 

“Oh, well, alright. Are you coming out of there anytime soon?”

 

“Yeah, we’re coming,” Dan said back, then he paused and, glancing at Phil, blushed and grinned a bit at at his accidental innuendo. Phil shook his head at him. Then a phone rang, and Phil instinctively checked for his own, but realized that it was on the floor and not in his pocket; he heard Mrs. Howell answer her phone as he bent to pick up his phone, then his wallet and the keys that had fallen from his pocket.

 

Dan opened the door and stepped out, Phil following, as Mrs. Howell said: “Yes, that’s fine, I can do that. Alright, see you in a bit. Bye.”

 

She hung up her phone and looked up, smiling warmly at her son, and it only faltered a little when her gaze landed on Phil. “There you are,” she said, stepping forward and opening her arms for a hug. “I was worried for a second that you’d gotten stuck behind your bed again.”

 

Dan turned bright pink; “Mum, that was one time!”

 

She shrugged as she hugged him, then her expression sobered a little. “Dan, that was my boss; we’ve just had a major client ask us to design a new commercial, and he wants me to come back in to drop off their file with all the old ideas, I have it in here somewhere…” she trailed off, looking around.

 

“But you just got home,” Dan said, though Phil noticed that he’d crossed his fingers behind his back. “And your office is nearly an hour out. Couldn’t you just bring it in with you tomorrow?”

 

“No, they’re having a briefing tonight; I don’t have to stay, I just need to drop off the file. I wouldn’t be gone that long.”

 

Her cell phone made a beep and she pulled it back out of her purse. “Oh, I completely forgot!”

 

“What?” Dan asked.

 

“Oh, Nana asked me to come round for dinner this evening! Daniel, thank you so much for showing me how to use that calendar thingy, otherwise I would’ve stood up Nana!”

 

“Oh, you’re welcome then, I guess.”

 

“Oh, do you want me to order you a pizza? Or there’s dinners in the freezer. Or you could come, but I don’t think you’d find supper with Nana very interesting.”

 

“Um, I think I’ll just have something from the freezer,” Dan said.

 

“You could come with me,” Phil offered. “My parents are going for Mexican, we’ll be meeting my brother there.”

 

Dan glanced at his mother, whose expression had become unreadable. “Mum?” he said.

 

“I suppose that would be fine,” she sighed. “Yes, go ahead. Call me when you get home, though.”

 

“Yes, Mum,” Dan leaned in and pecked her cheek. He grabbed his flower crown off the china cabinet and turned back to Phil. “Let me just grab my phone,” he said.

 

“And your wallet, make sure you get your ID!” Dan’s mother called after him as he ducked back into his bedroom. Phil glanced at his mum, then looked down at the ground, pushing his hands in his pockets.

 

“He’ll be a minute, he’ll need to find his ID in all that mess first,” Mrs. Howell said to Phil, crossing the room to open a file cabinet. “So, Phil, what year are you in?”

 

“Last year,” he answered.

 

“Yeah? What university are you looking at going to?”

 

“Erm, probably Manchester. That’s where my older brother goes.”

 

“That’s a nice school, Dan’s father attended there. I went to Cambridge, though.”

 

“Yeah, my mum wants me to apply there as well,” Phil answered. “But they’re more bookish than I really need.”

 

“Bookish? What are you planning on majoring in if bookish is not needed?” she asked with a half of a laugh.

 

“Erm, special effects, actually,” Phil said, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck. “Like for movies.”

 

“That’s nice,” she said absently, glancing up at him. Her eyes flicked to the edge of his jaw, and the mouth shaped bruise left by Dan only minutes ago. She cleared her throat, looking away. “Ah, here it is. Oh, no, no, that’s not it.”

 

Phil looked down at his feet in awkwardness, wondering if he was meant to say anything else.

 

“How old are you, Phil?”

 

“Eighteen,” he answered. He didn’t mention that he would be nineteen in less than five months.

 

“Oh, really? Dan’s only just turned sixteen.”

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

Mrs. Howell looked up at him, her lips pursed slightly. Then: “Do you keep out of trouble?” she asked as she turned back to the filing cabinet.

 

Phil tried to think of what her definition of ‘keeping out of trouble’ would be and how best to get around it, but before he could answer, Dan exited his bedroom and his mother said “Aha! Got it.”

 

“I’m ready,” Dan said, stepping beside Phil. “I’ll see you later, mum.”

 

“Alright, stay safe, sweetheart, and be good,” his mother pointed a finger at him with raised eyebrows in a motherly stance.

 

“I will,” Dan assured her, stepping around the paper laden table to kiss her cheek. “Bye.”

 

“See you,” Phil said, giving Dan’s mum a wave; the two of them left through the kitchen and the back door, Phil pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked his car, then opened Dan’s door for him. Dan gave Phil a smile as he slipped into the car, then Phil went around to his side and got in.

 

“My mum’s watching,” Dan said softly. Phil glanced out of the corner of his eye towards the house; he spotted a gap in the blinds of a window nearby, and a sliver of a face between the slats.

 

“So I shouldn’t just kiss you,” Phil said, looking at Dan. Dan giggled, raising his hands to cover his mouth.

 

“Probably not, no,” he answered.

 

“I definitely shouldn’t touch you anywhere,” Phil said with a smirk.

 

“That would be poor judgment, yes.”

 

“But I can say things, right? Like how wonderful it felt you have you under me, or that your lips make my skin feel like it's charged with electricity, or even that the just sight of your wrists turns me on?”

 

Dan’s cheeks colored, he glanced down at his hands clasped in lap, his wrists just barely exposed by his overlong sweater sleeves, and smiled softly. “You can definitely say things like that.”

 

“And things like your cock tastes like cotton candy?” Phil added.

 

“Does it really?” Dan said with a laugh.

 

“Close enough, yeah,” Phil laughed. He pushed the key into the ignition and turned it. He then raised a hand to wave to Mrs. Howell, then put the car in reverse and carefully backed out of the driveway. He changed gears, then started towards his house.

 

“What about your moans sound sweeter than a symphony?” he said. “And your touch could make me come without even going near my pants.”

 

“You’re just trying to get me back in bed, aren’t you?” asked Dan with a smirk.

 

“No, I’m serious,” Phil laughed. “Fairy, you bring heaven to earth.”

 

Dan’s cheeks were a beautiful shade of rose as he giggled again, his gaze falling to the road. “Phil, even with my sweet tooth, all these compliments are rotting my teeth.”

 

“Good,” Phil said. He reached over and took Dan’s hand, then, with his eyes still fixed on the road before them, lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of Dan’s hand. “I mean it.”

 

“Thank you,” Dan whispered.

 

“Though I wouldn’t say no to round two,” Phil added. Dan laughed and squeezed his hand.

 

Dan began some music, more of the electronic emo style he’d played earlier, and they listened in silence the rest of the drive. When Phil parked in his driveway, his mother was standing at the kitchen window and looked up from whatever she was doing to wave.

 

“Mum, Dan came over, he’s coming with us to dinner, is that okay?” Phil called as he entered the house.

 

“Of course, sweetheart, we’ll be leaving in about an hour,” his mother was washing dishes in the sink when he stepped into the kitchen, Dan behind him. “Could you go and do one quick chore for me, though?”

 

Phil dropped his keys on the kitchen counter and nodded to his mum. “Sure, what is it?”

 

“I need the Halloween decorations taken down from the attic,” she explained, “we can set them up later but I can’t get up those steep stairs with my bad knee.”

 

“We’ll get them, Mum,” Phil promised; he crossed the kitchen and dropped a kiss on her cheek before waving to Dan and moving into the dining room. Dan slipped his hand into Phil’s as they took the stairs up to the second floor; Phil led him to the attic door and opened it, flicking on a light switch as he mounted the stairs.

 

“You guys go all out for Halloween?” Dan asked him as they came up to the attic.

 

“Mum loves all that shit,” Phil said, stepping around a box filled with puzzles towards the back of the wide, long room. “She decorates for all the major holidays, but Christmas and Halloween are her favorites.”

 

“My parents leave all the decorating up to me,” Dan told him as he picked up a stuffed dog from a box. “Was this yours?” he asked, holding it up.

 

Phil glanced at it and shook his head. “Martyn’s. He had dogs, I had cats, mostly lions.”

 

Dan smiled, setting the dog down. “You seem like the guy who loves all his lion plushies.”

 

Phil blushed a little, shifting a box to check its label. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m a fucking nerd,” he muttered. He lifted a box and stepped back to set it on a free patch of ground behind him. He glanced up at Dan, who was watching his arms with a smirk. Phil flexed his biceps intentionally, grinning at his boyfriend, before putting the box down and turning back.

 

“You’ve certainly got lovely arms,” Dan said softly.

 

“Thanks, fairy,” Phil said with a chuckle.

 

“I like your tattoos,” he added. “Especially those knives.”

 

Phil glanced down at his forearm, at the crossed knives and skull, the largest of his tattoos. “That was the first one I got,” he said, shooting Dan a smile. “Jolly Roger, you know.”

 

“Mmm, my Romeo is a pirate,” Dan said in a little purr. “I love it.”

 

Phil laughed softly; he knelt to examine another box, trying to find the one with the fake gravestones for Dan to carry, since it would be rather light.

 

“What about that heart?” asked Dan. “With the ribbon on it, what does it say?”

 

Phil didn’t bother looking; the heart was on the underside of his left arm, a simple pink design with a matching ribbon around it, containing a name and a set of dates. “Elizabeth Collins,” he said immediately. When Dan didn’t reply, he looked up and saw that his expression had soured slightly. “My grandmother, on my mum’s side,” he added, “Pink for breast cancer.”

 

Dan immediately looked guilty. “Oh, I didn't realize – I’m sorry…”

 

Phil shrugged, turning back to the boxes. “You wouldn’t; it killed her when I was fourteen. I got the tattoo last October for breast cancer awareness.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Dan repeated, his gaze having fallen towards the ground.

 

“It’s okay,” Phil said, giving him a smile. “A lot of people make assumptions, at least until they see the dates; they’re the year she was born and the year she died.”

 

“Four years ago?” Dan said.

 

“Give or take,” Phil replied. He let out a small “ah” as he found the box of gravestones and other yard decorations. He lifted it easily and set it in front of Dan. “You can carry that one,” he told him.

 

“Sure,” said Dan, putting his arms around it. Phil lifted a box with other decorations, mostly tableware and linen, and jerked his head towards the stairs.

 

“We’ll come back up for the other boxes,” Phil said.

 

Dan nodded and lifted up the box Phil had given him, then started to the stairs. He put a hand in an almost dainty manner on the railing as he stepped down.

 

“What about the one on your right wrist, the gun and the lettering?” Dan asked.

 

“Song lyric,” Phil replied. “Marilyn Manson’s Killing Strangers.”

 

“Oh, that’s a good one. What’s your favorite of his?”

 

“Killing Strangers,” Phil said with a laugh. “Yours?”

 

“The Beautiful People,” Dan answered as he glanced back.

 

“I like that one,” Phil replied. “We’ll put these boxes in the living room, by the way.”

 

“Oh, sure.”

 

“You ever thought about a tattoo?” Phil asked him as they set down the boxes on the couch.

 

“Briefly, but I’d have to wait until I was eighteen, my mother would never let me and I look like a fucking twelve year old, so there’s way I could get away with not being carded.”

 

“What would you get?” Phil asked, slipping a hand into his.

 

Dan leaned on his shoulder for a moment, shooting him a warm smile. “I’ve never settled on any one design,” he answered. “Anything from a lyric to my favorite constellation to a flower or a quote or something from Disney.”

 

“I think you’d look beautiful with a fairy tattoo,” Phil said.

 

Dan laughed, shaking his head with a smile. “I do like Tinker Bell,” he said finally.

 

Phil slipped his arms around Dan’s waist and kissed his forehead quickly. “Tinker Bell and some roses,” he said decisively.

 

“Perfect,” Dan laughed. “I’ll get that on my eighteenth birthday.”

 

Phil chuckled, then let go and pulled him forward by the hand. “Come on, there’s still a few boxes left to get.”

 

There were only a few boxes left, and after they had set them in the sitting room, Phil grabbed Dan’s hand and pulled him onto the couch, taking a remote as he went. Dan draped his legs over Phil’s lap, then stretched, rather like a cat, pulling his arms above his head. His jumper and shirt rose up, exposing a hickey Phil had left on Dan’s stomach. Phil smirked and slipped his arm behind Dan, then pulled him properly onto his lap. Dan grinned and settled his head onto Phil’s shoulder.

 

“You two look cozy,” Phil’s mother commented as she passed by the sitting room.

 

“Very,” Dan agreed with a little giggle. Phil’s mother shook her head but smiled, going up to the second floor. Phil pressed a kiss to Dan’s cheek and turned the TV on.

 

“What do you want to watch?” Phil asked him.

 

“Ooh, do you have Netflix on this?”

 

“Yeah, hang on,” Phil leaned over to the end table and grabbed the Blu-ray remote, then he switched inputs and turned on the Blu-ray player. “What on Netflix?”

 

“Could we watch Bones, Romeo?” Dan asked, batting his eyelashes and sticking out his bottom lip. Phil chuckled, remembering last week when Dan calling him that had ended with Phil telling him to fuck off, and nodded as he opened Netflix. Dan grinned again; “Yay,” he murmured, kissing Phil’s neck quickly.

 

Phil combed through his fringe with a hand while he waited for the content to load, then caught sight of Dan biting his lip, his eyes tracking the movement of Phil’s hand through his hair.

 

“Don’t do that,” Phil murmured, using his thumb to pull Dan’s lip from between his teeth, “that’s my lip to bite.”

 

Dan smirked, then caught his lip between his teeth again. Phil raised an eyebrow, his grip on Dan’s waist tightening.

 

“Are you ignoring me?” he whispered.

 

“Maybe,” Dan breathed. “What are you going to do about it?”

 

Phil flicked his gaze toward the stairs, then fixed it on Dan’s eyes. “Naughty boys don’t get what they want,” he whispered. “You remember that, Danny.”

 

Dan giggled again, bringing a hand to his lips to cover it. “God, you’re so dominant, Phil,” he murmured behind his hand.

 

Phil gave Dan’s ass a quick squeeze. “You like it,” he whispered.

 

“Oh, fuck yes I do,” Dan replied, his voice still low and breathy. Phil was getting turned on just talking with him; he brushed his knuckles against Dan’s cheek, then cupped his chin and pressed a kiss to his lips, a gentle one because his mother could still come downstairs at any moment.

 

The browse screen flashed up and Phil lifted his lips from Dan’s, turning to face the TV. Dan dropped his head onto Phil’s shoulders again, his exhale dusting the skin of his neck.

 

“What did you want to watch again?” Phil asked, glancing down at Dan.

 

“Bones,” he answered. “Season four.”

 

Phil nodded; he opened search and typed in ‘b’ ‘o’, then the icon of the crime drama popped up in the results. Phil had watched a few episodes before, though not religiously, so he knew most of the characters. He went to season four and started flicking through the list of episodes until Dan told him to stop. He played episode seventeen and, dropping the remote onto the couch beside him, leaned his head against Dan’s.

 

They didn't have a chance to finish the episode, as Phil's mother came downstairs and told them that his brother and father would be meeting them at the restaurant.

 

“Phil, do you know where my keys are?” his mother asked. Phil shrugged.

 

“We can just take my car,” he said. His mother looked indecisive; she wasn't particularly fond of his old Ford. Phil raised an eyebrow at her, asking her silently if being twenty minutes late for a more comfortable vehicle was worth it. She sighed and nodded.

 

“Alright. But I can sit in the back, I wouldn't want to disrupt you two boys.”

 

“Thanks,” Phil said, then patted Dan's leg. “You need to get up now.”

 

Dan pouted, tucking his head under Phil's chin. “But I'm so comfy…” he mumbled.

 

“We're going to dinner,” Phil reminded him. “Up.”

 

He pretended not to hear his mother sniggering.

 

Dan sighed and lifted himself off of Phil's lap, but immediately wrapped his arm around his waist once Phil had stood. Phil rolled his eyes and gestured to his mother to go out the back door.

 

The trip to the restaurant wasn't a very long drive, just twenty or so minutes. When they arrived, Phil spotted his father's car near the front and pulled into a spot near it. He turned off the engine and unbuckled his seat belt, turning to his mum as he did.

 

“Did you see Martyn’s car, Mum?” he asked. “I don't remember what it looks like.”

 

“Yes, it's the silver sedan back there,” she answered, pointing over her shoulder.

 

“So as usual, you've made us last to arrive,” he said with a smirk. His mother looked rather affronted.

 

“I did not!” she insisted. “ That is a silly superstition and you know it, Philip Michael.”

 

Phil looked to his boyfriend and rolled his eyes. Dan, however, chuckled.

 

“Your middle name is Michael?” he asked.

 

“Oh, shut up,” Phil mumbled, quickly looking away. Dan laughed as they got out of the car.

 

Phil held the door open for his mother and Dan, who gave him a smirk as he passed, commented: “What a gentleman.” Phil simply grinned at him.

 

“Catherine, there you are!” Phil's father called, holding out an arm towards his wife. He and Martyn were standing in a small waiting area, Martyn holding a little buzzer, the kind used to tell customers when their table was ready.

 

“Hello, darling,” Phil's mum said pleasantly to Martyn as she stepped forward to hug him.

 

“Hi mum,” Martyn said warmly, accepting her hug and patting her back. “It's been too long.”

 

“Much too long,” agreed Phil's father. “It's been, what, two months?”

 

“Eight weeks,” said Phil's mum.

 

“That is two months,” his dad said with a frown. Phil's mother shook her head slightly.

 

Phil held out a hand to his brother, who grinned and took it, then pulled him into the typical manly man bro hug.

 

“Good to see you, Marty,” Phil said.

 

“Great to see you too, shrimp,” Martyn said with a laugh, bringing up the old nickname from their childhood, despite the fact that Phil was now a good four inches taller than Martyn. “How's school?”

 

“Teachers and homework suck, same old same old,” Phil confessed with a shrug. He turned back and gestured to his boyfriend, then added: “This is Dan.”

 

Dan smiled then held out his hand and Martyn gave it a good shake. “Nice to meet you,” Dan murmured.

 

“Likewise,” Martyn replied genially.

 

Just as Phil was about to add that Dan and he were dating, the buzzer in Martyn’s hand went off.

 

“Guess our table’s ready,” said Martyn, which was followed immediately by a hostess calling: “Lester, party of four.”

 

“Oh, I forgot to call ahead and tell you we had Dan, didn’t I?” Phil’s mother said.

 

“It’ll be fine,” Phil’s dad assured her. “Dan can surely squeeze in next to Phil, right?”

 

“That’s fine with me,” Dan said brightly. Phil rolled his eyes at him as they began moving towards the hostess. Phil’s dad quickly explained that they had another party member, and the hostess assured them that the booth they had would be big enough, so they followed her from the front entrance to the back of the restaurant. Martyn slid into the booth first, then Phil and Dan beside him while Phil’s parents took the other side. Phil didn’t bother opening the menu; they frequented this restaurant and he already knew what he wanted. He looked to Dan in case he wanted any recommendations, but Dan was buried in the menu already.

 

“Can I get you guys any drinks?” A waitress appeared at the end of the table with a bottle of salsa and a bowl of chips. Phil’s father answered first.

 

“Tecate, with lime please,” he said, then glanced at Phil’s mum, who asked for a margarita with half the normal amount of tequila.

 

“Just a water for me,” Martyn told the waitress; Phil looked to him with a raised eyebrow. The last few times he’d been there, he had always ordered a margarita. But he didn’t ask, rather he asked the waitress for a Coke.

 

“Same thing as him,” Dan said, pointing to Phil. The waitress gave a nod, then a smile and turned to go. Once she’d left, Phil’s mother looked to Martyn over the top of her menu.

 

“So, how is university going?” she asked with a bright smile.

 

“Wonderfully,” Martyn replied. “I’ve gotten to the top of the class in nearly all my classes.”

 

“That’s excellent,” Phil’s dad said with a proud glint in his eye. “Join any teams?”

 

“Debate team, actually,” Martyn answered with a laugh. “Goes with my law program.”

 

“That’s my boy,” said his dad, with a wink.

 

“What year are you in?” Dan asked, leaning around Phil.

 

“Second,” Martyn answered.

 

“What’s it like?”

 

“Lots of homework, plenty of classmates getting themselves stupid drunk, long essays, the works.”

 

Dan wrinkled his nose. “I hate having to write essays. I don’t like people telling me I have to write something, let alone what to write.”

 

“I feel the same,” Martyn commented. “Do you write extracurricularly?”

 

“Sometimes, yeah,” Dan said with a shrug.

 

Phil looked to him with raised eyebrows. “You’re a writer?”

 

“I dabble,” Dan admitted. “And no, you can’t read it.”

 

“Aw, why not?” Phil whined, nudging him with his shoulder.

 

“Because,” Dan insisted, sticking his nose in the air. “I said so.”

 

Phil rolled his eyes. “Brat,” he mumbled. Dan smirked, but hid it behind his menu.

 

“What year are you in?” Martyn asked Dan, not having heard Phil’s mumbled word.

 

“11th,” Dan answered, “a year behind Phil.”

 

“How did you guys meet?” Martyn asked with a half a laugh. “Phil here hates younger people.”

 

Phil rolled his eyes, but Dan smirked again, this one less sexual. “It’s, uh, it’s a long story,” he said. Phil raised his eyebrows, looking down at his hands folded on the table, slightly glad Dan hadn't gone into the full details of how Dan had practically sexually harassed him while Phil bordered bullying him until the week before, when the sexual tension between the two of them had quite simply exploded. Now that he thought about it, the circumstances were a bit odd. Then he paused, thinking over what Dan had just said.

 

“Wait a minute,” Phil said, a frown growing on his face. “If you’re in 11th year, why are you in 12th year classes?”

 

“Because half of your 12th year classes are combined and the rest I got into due to my own brilliance,” Dan answered matter-of-factly, dropping his gaze to his menu again.

 

Phil frowned. “I take combined classes?”

 

His mother raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes you do, because you had to repeat a year, remember?” she reminded him.

 

Phil flushed. “Right,” he mumbled, looking down. Dan’s hand found his under the table and squeezed it. Phil shot him a quick smile of gratitude.

 

The waitress arrived with their drinks, then asked if they were ready to order. Dan whispered in Phil’s ear about whether or not he should get the shrimp quesadilla or enchiladas while his dad began to order. Phil told him to get the quesadilla.

 

When she’d left again, Dan dropped his head onto Phil’s arm, and Phil’s father began talking with Martyn again. Phil slipped his arm around Dan’s waist and pulled him a little closer. He caught Martyn shooting them a frown, but he was looking away to answer a question of their father’s before Phil could guess at its meaning. The food arrived a few minutes later, and Dan immediately muttered that it was a good thing he got the quesadilla rather than the enchiladas, because the quesadilla was too big for him as it was. Phil chuckled softly.

 

“Dan,” Phil’s father said after a moment of silence while they began to eat, “what do you parents do for work?”

 

“Advertising,” Dan answered. “My dad’s actually designed some pretty wide spread ads.”

 

“Really?” Phil’s father said. “Which ones?”

 

“Let me think, uh, there was a commercial for Healthy Choice meals last May that won an award,” Dan began, looking as though he were trying to remember the details. “I think four different people were in it; an old man, a college student, a middle-aged woman and a businessman. They did some things that were supposed to be emotionally healthy things to do, like the college student broke up with a cheating boyfriend and the old man left flowers on his wife’s grave, then they all went home and heated up a Healthy Choice dinner. It was all some metaphoric connection between their lifestyles and their good food choices.”

 

“I remember seeing that one,” Phil’s mother said, “your dad designed it?”

 

“Yeah, he wrote the basic script for it,” Dan said with a nod. “There were changes made of course, but the idea and drafts were his.”

 

“That’s amazing,” Phil’s mother said with a warm smile. “You must be so proud.”

 

“Yeah, they’re really good,” Dan said, giving her another nod.

 

“I suppose that’s where you get your charisma from, then?” Phil asked, glancing at his boyfriend.

 

“Definitely,” Dan laughed. “That and my clever sense of humor.”

 

Phil chuckled lightly. There was a lull in the conversation as they all resumed eating. His mother broke the quiet a moment later, speaking to Martyn.

 

“What classes are you taking now?”

 

“Follow up’s to last semester’s required classes,” Martyn began, “Introduction to Criminal Law, as opposed to regular law, a theology class, Social Studies, Latin, and Advanced Communication.”

 

“What are you taking theology for?” Phil asked, his voice a little garbled by the bite of taco he’d just taken.

 

“It’s something I became interested in during the summer,” Martyn admitted. “I began going to church again, even.”

 

Phil paused in his chewing. He’d never known Martyn to be particularly religious; his entire family had never been that religious. His mother had stopped making him go to church period when he’d come out as gay two years ago. He swallowed, then asked: “Why?”

 

Martyn shrugged. “I’ve taken a turn in life. I want to be more involved with church, be a better Catholic.”

 

Phil shrugged. “Fine. Just don’t try and make me go.”

 

Martyn frowned at him. “I wouldn’t, if you really don’t want to. Have you got something against religion?”

 

Phil returned his brother’s frown, then he realized that in the two years he’d been out to his parents, Martyn had never been home long enough for Phil to tell him that he was gay. Phil glanced out of the corner of his eye at Dan, then back to Martyn and shrugged once again. “It’s not my thing,” he said. He didn’t really feel that just saying that his own gayness disagreed with the Catholic Church would be the appropriate way to come out, especially if his brother was becoming committed to it again. He’d figure out a way to tell him later.

 

“That’s fine for you, then,” Martyn said as he turned back to his food. “It’s up to you.”

 

Phil just nodded, and an awkward sort of silence settled over the five of them. Dan caught Phil’s eye and raised an eyebrow, but Phil just shrugged again.

 

Talk resumed again, between Martyn and their mother, while the other three continued to eat. Dan ate a little more than half of the quesadilla, and by the time he pushed his plate towards Phil, he had finished his chimichangas. He had room left in his stomach, and there wasn’t much left, so Phil gave Dan a smile and a small eyeroll, then finished the quesadilla.

 

As the rest of them were finishing their meals, Dan dropped his head onto Phil’s shoulder and gave a soft, murmuring sigh.

 

“You getting tired, fairy?” Phil murmured, turning to Dan.

 

“A little,” Dan confessed.

 

“Would you like me to drive you home?”

 

“Not yet,” Dan answered. “I want to stay with you a little longer.”

 

Phil nodded, then put his arm around Dan’s waist again and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Dan smiled happily and snuggled closer.

 

“Phil?”

 

Phil looked over at Martyn; “Yeah,” he answered. Martyn was frowning again, his mouth set in a downward line.

 

“Did you just – are you and Dan –”

 

Something in Martyn’s tone made Phil uneasy, defensive as well. “He’s my boyfriend,” Phil interrupted. “We’ve been dating about a week now.”

 

Dan shot Martyn a pleased grin; pleased with both himself and Phil, apparently. Martyn, however did not return the grin. Rather, he glanced between their parents and Phil, his frown deepening.

 

“But…” Martyn said. “But… that’s…”

 

“What?” Phil asked, hearing something in his brother’s voice that was faintly, yet distinctly, off.

 

“It’s wrong,” Martyn said, not meeting his eye.

 

Phil’s lips curled into a scowl. “You did not just say that,” he said.

 

“It’s wrong,” Martyn repeated, lifting his gaze to meet Phil’s, and Phil was angered to see that his brother’s face was full not of hatred or disgust the way bigots are supposed to be but of concern. “Homosexuality is… it’s sinful. It’s against nature.”

 

Phil clenched his jaw. “So, what, are you saying that we’re going to hell or something?”

 

Martyn’s hesitant silence and the way he wouldn’t meet his eye was enough of an answer. Phil looked away from him, to Dan, and motioned for him to to get up. Dan scooted out of the booth, and Phil stood, taking Dan’s hand.

 

“Mum, you can ride home with Dad, right?” Phil asked, already pulling his keys and wallet from his pocket.

 

“Yes, of course; Phil –”

 

“I’ll see you later,” he cut her off. Phil took a few bills from his wallet and handed them to his father to pay for his and Dan’s meals, then he tugged Dan forward, who immediately pushed his arm around Phil’s waist and leaned his head against him. Phil wrapped his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders and led him from the restaurant. At the car, Phil opened Dan’s door and waited for him to settle himself in the front seat to shut the door and go around to his own seat.

 

Phil started the car in silence, backed out of the space, and left the parking lot in that same silence. He didn’t want to look at Dan’s face, he didn’t want to see the hurt in them. He’d taken Dan somewhere that was meant to be a safe place, and gotten their relationship attacked. By his own brother.

 

Finally, Phil spoke. “I’m sorry.”

 

“You’re not the homophobe,” Dan said. “Don’t apologize.”

 

“I’m sorry I exposed you to one,” Phil insisted. “I – I didn’t even know Martyn went to church.”

 

“It’s not your fault,” Dan mumbled.

 

Phil shook his head. “I’m still sorry.”

 

“Stop apologizing, okay?” Dan snapped. Phil glanced at him, a bit startled, then reached over and gripped his hand.

 

“Are you okay?” he murmured.

 

Dan shrugged. “I just…” his sentence trailed into silence, so Phil took a guess at what he was trying to say.

 

“You’re scared your parents might react the way Martyn did,” Phil muttered. Dan nodded.

 

Phil couldn’t think of anything to say that could possibly help his boyfriend, so he just held his hand tightly in his. He couldn’t let Dan know that he was afraid of that too.

 

He drove Dan back to his own home, where he knew that the house would be empty for at least a little while longer and no confirmed homophobic persons could walk in on them. Dan didn’t even notice that they’d arrived at his house until Phil opened his door, and he looked up from his lap.

 

“Oh,” he mumbled, blushing a little. “I… I suppose you’re just dropping me off?”

 

“I’ll stay,” Phil said, “until you want me to go.”

 

Dan released his seat belt and rose from the car, then flung his arms around Phil’s neck and buried his face in his shirt. “I don’t want you to ever go,” he whispered.

 

Phil hugged him tightly. “I don’t want to go either.”

 

He didn't know how long they stood there; a minute, ten, an hour – it didn't matter. Finally Dan stepped away, pulling on his hand, and walked around the back of the building to the kitchen door. Phil waited while Dan unlocked it, then followed him in and to his room. Dan dropped onto his bed, the blankets still rumpled from the two bodies entangling in each other just a few hours before, and help out his arms. Phil settled beside him, and Dan buried his face his in Phil's chest again.

 

“Dad doesn't go to church,” Dan whispered, “my mum doesn't much either, only when she takes Nana.”

 

“Your parents love you, Dan,” Phil murmured. “I can see it in your mum's eyes.”

 

Dan nodded, his face brushing against Phil's shirt. “It doesn't stop me from worrying.”

 

“You don't have to tell them,” he whispered, his words slipping from his lips in hopes they would soothe Dan's troubled thoughts. “You don't have to say anything.”

 

The quiet wasn't oppressive. It wasn't cold, or cruel or frightening, the way quiet was normally. It was comforting. The stillness blanketed them in soft reassurance, they were both there, they were together. It was safe. They were safe.

 

Phil didn't remember falling asleep. Maybe it was the rush of emotions, or the incredible sex they'd had earlier catching up with them, but before long the two boys had fallen asleep on top of Dan's black and white bedspread, Dan tucked in Phil's arms and held tightly. Phil couldn't remember falling asleep, but he remembered waking up feeling cold.

 

He sat up groggily, rubbing at his eyes. The room was dark, and but for him, completely empty. His lips curled in a slight frown, as he wondered where Dan had gone. Phil slipped off of the bed and crossed the room to the door. He turned the handle gently and opened it slowly. The paper strewn room before him was devoid of figures, so he exited Dan’s room and stepped into the dining room/office.

 

“Dan?” he said softly.

 

“In here.”

 

Phil moved into the kitchen, and found Dan standing at an island counter holding a small tub of ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other, two bowls on the counter. He hadn't turned on the kitchen light, and was standing in relative darkness but for the pale almost purple light reaching through the curtained window.

 

“I didn’t think you’d wake up,” Dan said. “Do you want ice cream?”

 

“Sure,” Phil answered, stepping forward and leaning on the granite countertop. Dan resumed serving the ice cream, filling the first bowl and then the second. He took another spoon from a drawer, then put away the tub of ice cream and handed the second spoon to Phil.

 

“Cheers,” Dan said. There was nothing but the clinking of spoons against the ceramic bowls for a while, soft sounds within the darkened room.

 

“I’ve thought about it,” Dan whispered.

 

“About what?” Phil asked.

 

“Telling my parents. Leaving the closet for good.”

 

Phil nodded, his gaze on the bowl before him. He waited, and for another long moment Dan hesitated.

 

“How did you come out?” he asked in a soft voice.

 

Phil pulled the spoon from his mouth, and turned over the bite of ice cream in his mouth while he recalled. He swallowed, then set down the spoon. “I was sixteen, just barely. My parents had been watching a movie, I don’t remember what it was but I remember that two male characters made out. My mum made a point of saying that she appreciated that Hollywood and modern society was spreading that vibe of being gay is okay, and she kind of gave me this look because she knew long before I even knew what romance in general was.”

 

“Did your dad?” Dan asked.

 

“Nah,” Phil said, shaking his head. “But later that night, we were looking for another movie, and I said ‘hey, dad, mum, I think I’m gay’, my mum hugged me and my dad,” Phil laughed softly, “he looked at me very confused and asked what that had to do with whether we ought to watch Iron Man or Pitch Perfect.”

 

Dan gave half of a chuckle, a soft smile bringing out his dimples. Phil reached up and touched his thumb to his dimple, smiling himself. “You’ve got a beautiful smile,” he whispered.

 

Dan blushed a little and smiled wider. “Thanks,” he murmured. Phil leaned across the counter and pecked his lips. Dan’s blush deepened, then as Phil leaned back he laughed. “You’ve got ice cream on your shirt.”

 

Phil looked down, then lifted his shirt to his mouth and licked it off. Dan made an expression of distaste, muttering “Gross,” under his breath. Phil rolled his eyes and stabbed his spoon back into the ice cream.

 

“Anyway, that’s the whole sordid affair,” Phil sighed. “They didn’t care at all. I never came out to Martyn, though, so that’s why tonight… he reacted the way he did.”

 

Dan nodded, his gaze dropping back to his own bowl of ice cream. “I don’t think they’d react too badly,” he murmured. “My parents, I mean. I know my dad won’t give a shit, all he wants for me is to become successful and make lots of money so he and mum can retire on my earnings.” He laughed a bit dryly, shaking his head slightly. “My mum, though… She’s never here enough to ever sit down and have a deep conversation like that. Every time I’ve ever needed to ask her something, she’s always told me to hang on just a minute, she’s got to write this report or draft a script for a commercial, or she’s just really tired from working.”

 

Dan looked up at Phil, then shrugged and back to his ice cream. “I mean, I’m not really complaining, both she and my dad have important jobs and they love what they do, so I wouldn’t ever begrudge them that… They just never stop. I think the last vacation we took was three years ago, and it wasn’t even a family vacation, they took me and a friend along on a business trip to L.A. and they spent the entire time working. We went to Disneyland with my dad’s second cousin instead of my parents because they couldn’t make it.”

 

“Sounds like they can’t make it to a lot of things,” Phil whispered.

 

Dan hesitated, but he nodded. “They’re great, I love them and I know they’d give the world for me, they’re just not here a lot.”

 

Phil reached across the counter and took Dan’s hand. “I’m sorry,” he said gently.

 

Dan shrugged again. “Don’t be sorry, it’s not like there’s anything either of us could ever do about it. I… I don’t even know.”

 

Phil nodded, he didn’t know what else to say so he said nothing, rather he lifted Dan’s hand and pressed his lips against his knuckles. Dan smiled at him with gratitude, squeezing his hand lightly.

 

“Mum’s going to be gone a while longer,” Dan said. “You want to watch a movie?”

 

“Sure,” Phil replied, his voice as soft as Dan’s still was, as he stood up from his seat. Dan took the bowls, now empty, and put them in the sink. Then the two of them left the kitchen, passing through the dining room turned office, and into the sitting room. Dan grabbed the remotes and they sat down on the couch together. Phil lifted his arm almost instinctively and Dan settled into his side with an appreciative smile.

 

They ended up watching Bones again, playing the same episode they’d been watching before dinner, and as it ended Dan started to yawn. The next episode started automatically, and halfway through Dan had fallen asleep. Phil let him, leaving the show on as he was pretty interested in it at that point. Phil watched another episode, Dan curled up with his head on Phil’s lap, and got halfway through a fourth when he heard a car in the driveway.

 

Phil had a sudden sinking feeling that he couldn’t just stay where he was; he and Dan were cuddling on the couch out in the open. Dan was closeted. He respected that. He had to. Phil didn’t want to wake Dan, so he tried to slip off the couch without him noticing, but it didn’t work. Dan stirred, and lifted his head up with a yawn, mumbling something Phil couldn't understand under his breath.

 

“Your mom’s home,” he whispered. “I’m going to go sit in the recliner.”

 

Dan frowned, but then he nodded. Phil grabbed a pillow and stuck it under his boyfriend’s head, then risked a quick kiss to his forehead. He moved over to the big brown armchair by the couch and sat down, pulling the handle on the side to put his feet up. As he settled back, his eyes returning to the tv, he heard the back door opening.

 

“Dan? I’m home!”

 

Dan had fallen back asleep already, so the shout by his mother went unanswered. Phil tried to pay attention to the show; he had missed something that seemed to be fairly important and was at that point very confused. Dan’s mother stepped through the dining room doors into sight, and she paused as her gaze found Phil.

 

“Dan fell asleep,” Phil said in a carrying whisper, looking away from the tv and to her.

 

“Oh,” she said. “That’s fine.”

 

Phil nodded, and as she had fallen silent, looked away. He waited for her to say what she very obviously wanted to say, that she didn’t think it appropriate for him, an eighteen year old punk, to be hanging out with her young child, even though Dan was of the age of consent. Booth and Bones figured out the killer before she spoke.

 

“Phil, it was nice of you to bring Dan home.”

 

He didn’t reply just yet, waiting for the ‘but’ to come.

 

“But I think you ought to be heading home now. It’s late.”

 

Phil gave her a nod, and rose out of the chair. He glanced towards Dan, and his heart sunk a little bit further. He wanted to bend over him and whisper goodbye, leave him with kiss, but he couldn’t, not while his mom was watching. There was no way he could get her to leave, even to turn her back for a moment. So he said nothing, left Dan sleeping without a goodbye, and headed for the back door.

 

“And Phil?”

 

He stopped, his hand on the doorknob. He hadn’t heard her following him.

 

“Yeah?” he said, turning back to face her.

 

“I realize that the two of you are friends,” she said. “But Dan has to focus on his studies. He’s trying to get into Oxford, and he can’t afford… distractions.”

 

Phil smiled humorlessly. “You mean he can’t afford a bad influence,” he said, “like someone with tattooes and a punk attitude who might possibly get him in trouble. I get it. You want the best for him. You don’t think I’m good enough to be his –” he stopped, realizing that he’d almost said ‘boyfriend’. “His friend.”

 

Mrs. Howell’s eyes had widened long before he finished talking, and seemed speechless as he did. Phil gave her a nod of farewell, mumbled “Have a good night, Mrs. Howell,” and left the house. He walked with his hands shoved into his pockets back to his car, then pulled out of the driveway and started off home. He wasn’t angry. He felt more sad than anything else.

 

He texted Dan a goodnight when he got home, though Dan was probably still asleep.

 

The next morning he woke to the sound of his alarm and his mother calling for him to come and eat his breakfast. He rose from his bed groggily, stretching his stiff muscles and yawning widely. He felt his spine pop and dropped his arms, shaking out the last of his stiffness. He dressed quickly, grabbed his school bag and keys, his wallet and phone, then padded out of his room before going back to grab shoes.

 

“Phil! Come on, it’s going to get cold and you’ll miss the bus!”

 

“Coming, mum,” he shouted back. He checked his phone as he started downstairs; he had a text, and his heart surged until he saw that it was from Tyler, not Dan. He sighed and opened the message, reading it quickly. He wanted a ride, and apparently so did Tyler’s friend Troye. Phil wasn’t sure why Troye needed a ride from him, since Troye (if he was thinking of the right Troye) lived on the other side of town and nowhere near Tyler, until Tyler texted again with a winking emoji and a promise to tell all later. Then Phil didn’t need to guess anymore. He did have to remember what Troye looked like though.

 

“Your dad already left, and I’ve got to go in just a minute,” Phil’s mum said, handing him a plate of eggs and a glass of orange juice as he entered the kitchen. “Have a good day at school, and drive safe. Love you.”

 

“Bye, mum,” Phil said, his mother pressing a quick kiss to his cheek as she left the kitchen. He set the juice on the counter and grabbed a fork, starting to eat. Then he remembered he had yet to text Tyler back, so he did, promising to be there in twenty.

 

 _Thanks girl_ Tyler texted him. Phil rolled his eyes at the last word, though he didn’t care. Tyler was just like that. He finished the eggs and downed the last of the juice, then shouted another goodbye to his mum as he left the house.

 

Tyler’s house was actually pretty close to where Dan’s was, only a block off. He felt like going up to his house to see if his boyfriend wanted a ride as well, but as he passed, he saw Dan’s mother’s car parked by the garage and figured that he shouldn’t go in. He went on to his friend’s house, and found Tyler standing outside waiting for him with Troye, but it wasn’t the Troye that Phil had thought of earlier.

 

He parked but didn’t cut the engine, and put his window down. “Are you getting in or not?” he asked them, raising an eyebrow. Tyler rolled his eyes and opened the door to the backseat, sliding over to the passenger side. Troye, however, hesitated, and after a second Phil realized why. This was the boy that had been flirting with Dan two weeks before. The one that Phil had threatened in front of the entire school.

 

“Troye, babe, just get in,” Tyler said. “Phil’s really a softie, don’t worry.”

 

“I’m not worried,” Troye said, and he got into the car. Phil didn’t say anything as he put the car in reverse and backed out of Tyler’s driveway. Tyler was saying something quietly to Troye as he drove past Dan’s house again. Phil slowed a little in front of Dan’s house, and saw him and his mum getting into his mother’s car. Mrs. Howell didn’t notice him, but Dan did, and his boyfriend gave a little wave to him, his face confused. Phil waved back, then pointed over his shoulder to the backseat. Dan spotted Troye and Tyler and nodded, then Phil had pulled past Dan’s house and was turning down another street.

 

“So, Phil, will you tell Troye that you’re not going to beat him up if he talks to Dan again?” Tyler asked.

 

“As long as he’s not flirting,” Phil said. “Firstly because Dan’s mine, and secondly because if he hurts you, I am obligated to kill him.”

 

Phil glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Troye looking scared again. He resisted the urge to shake his head; the look didn’t suit the admittedly attractive boy.

 

Tyler rolled his eyes however. “Phil, you’re not obligated to kill anyone.”

 

“And I wasn’t really flirting with him to start with,” Troye added quickly, “honestly. Dan and I are just friends.”

 

Phil gave a curt nod, though he wasn’t sure to believe him. Tyler caught the look on his face and raised an eyebrow, pursing his lips in a scowl.

 

“What?” Phil asked.

 

“Stop being unnecessarily jealous,” Tyler scolded. “Dan has been devoted to chasing you for like two years, I promise.”

 

Phil frowned. “Two years? Really?”

 

“Maybe longer,” Troye said. “Honestly, it was getting annoying. He really likes you.”

 

Phil said nothing, his face falling into a thoughtful expression. He had known for a long time that Dan was flirting with him, but for almost all of that time he’d thought that Dan was just flirting to annoy him. Only recently had he known for sure that it was because Dan liked him, and even in the beginning he had been hesitant to even hope it. He smiled, but only just a little.

 

They arrived at the school and parked not long before Mrs. Howell’s car was pulling up to the doors to drop off Dan. Phil got out of his car and waited for Tyler and Troye to get out. After they did, he locked the car and started for the school courtyard. As Phil reached it, Dan was getting out of his mum’s car, saying something over his shoulder to her. Phil stepped off the asphalt behind a group of freshmen, who hurriedly got out of his way the moment they turned and realized he was behind them. Dan noticed the flurry of freshers moving towards the doors and met his gaze. Phil raised his hand, and saw Mrs. Howell notice him as well. He saw her gaze flick over Tyler and Troye, the two boys holding hands, and saw her purse her lips. Dan said one last thing to his mum, then shut his door and she slowly pulled away. Phil watched her drive away, and guessed that she was watching him as well. He waited until she had pulled out of the school driveway to stride over to Dan and throw his arm around him.

 

Dan hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry I fell asleep last night, I was really tired,” he mumbled into Phil’s shirt.

 

“S’fine,” Phil said. “I get it.”

 

Dan pulled his face out of Phil’s chest and looked over at Tyler and Troye. “Hey you two,” Dan said. “Is that why you didn’t text me to complain about the bus?”

 

“Yeah,” Troye said.

 

“I hope you used protection,” Dan said, almost motherly.

 

“Dan!” Troye protested, but Tyler said, rather seriously, “Of COURSE, do we look like idiots?”

 

“Good,” Dan said with a nod.

 

“If you’re going to ask me if I used protection, then you’d better promise me that you two did as well,” Troye said, his face red but lips curled in a smirk.

 

“Duh,” Dan answered. Phil felt rather like he was surrounded by a three girls who were all best friends. He knew that Tyler and Dan had known each other before, but he hadn’t thought they were that close. And he hadn’t even known Troye’s name until this morning. He felt very awkward indeed.

 

“Phil, would you carry me to class?” Dan asked, looking up innocently at him, his eyes wide and his lips set in a pout.

 

Phil couldn’t resist. “Fine,” he muttered, and Dan beamed, his dimples making Phil glad he’d said yes. He turned and bent his knees, then Dan jumped onto his back and wrapped his arms around his neck. Dan buried his face in Phil’s shoulder, his breath falling on the back of Phil’s neck and causing Phil to take a sharp inhale of breath.

 

“Thank you, Romeo,” Dan murmured, his mouth very close to Phil’s ear.

 

“Sure, fairy,” Phil muttered. He didn’t trust himself to speak very loud, not with Dan so close to his neck.

 

“Aw, I want a piggy back ride,” Tyler moaned.

 

“Don’t look at me, I’m too scrawny,” Troye said.

 

“Lucky bastard,” Tyler said to Dan.

 

“The benefits of having a tall boyfriend,” Dan said with a giggle, “are numerous.”

 

“You better not have secretly told them every detail of yesterday the minute I wasn’t looking,” Phil said, a mock tone of chastising in his voice.

 

“Not every detail,” Dan said slowly.

 

“More like half of them,” Troye admitted.

 

Phil let out a sigh. “Bloody twinks,” he muttered. Dan giggled again, and it sent shivers down Phil’s spine.

 

Emma, the Irish Jack, and Luke were by the doors; he didn’t see Joe. Jack spotted them and waved, then laughed.

 

“He’s got you whipped already, Phil,” Jack called.

 

“Worth it,” Phil said.

 

“I don't want to know,” Emma said, throwing her hands up in the air and turning away.

 

“Good, because I’m not telling, unlike some people,” Phil said.

 

“Hey, it’s a rule,” Dan protested.

 

“We twinks tell each other our every sexcapade,” Troye added.

 

“Still don’t want to know,” Emma sighed.

 

“Where’s Joe?” Phil asked.

 

“Home sick,” Jack told him. “Or rather, driving to the coast with his dad to go fishing.”

 

“Why the hell is his dad taking him fishing?” Phil asked.

 

“I have no fucking clue,” Jack answered.

 

“I think it’s a thing his dad does,” Luke said. “He used to do it a lot back in primary school.”

 

“I don’t even know,” Emma said.

 

“You don’t ever know anything,” Phil shot.

 

“I know some things!” Emma protested.

 

“Like that Luke’s penis is exactly 9 and one tenth centimeters?” Phil asked.

 

Jack turned to look at Emma, who’s face had fallen into her default ‘bitch face’. “You know what know?”

 

“It’s 9 and two tenths, actually,” Luke mumbled.

 

“Sure, Luke,” Phil said.

 

“Hold up,” Jack raised his hands, his face very confused, “why does Emma know exactly how long Luke’s cock is?”

 

“One time, Phil,” Emma said, shaking a finger at him, “one fucking time and you do not let it die!”

 

“Why do you know that?” Jack asked.

 

“For the record, in that same night, I found exactly how long your dick is, Phil,” Emma pointed out.

 

Phil gave a shrug. “So? Mine’s nearly 16 centimeters.”

 

“I’d say it’s at least 17, maybe almost 18,” Dan said.

 

Phil pointed at Dan. Emma glared at him. Luke looked slightly crestfallen.

 

“But why the hell do you know the length of both of their cocks?” Jack asked, looking three times as confused as before.

 

“I refuse to repeat the story,” Emma said.

 

“I don’t remember it,” Luke mumbled.

 

“I was the least high of the three of us,” Phil promised Jack.

 

“Why the fuck did the three of you get high and not invite me?” Jack spluttered.

 

“I don’t remember,” Emma sighed.

 

“I think what happened was that after they got high, these two got into a fight over who was packing more heat and decided to have Emma measure them,” Tyler said.

 

Emma glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, almost smiled, and then quickly resumed her bitch face.

 

“Probably,” Luke said.

 

Jack looked between them, then shook his head and walked away. Dan let out a little giggle.

 

“So, your friends seem nice,” Troye said.

 

“They’re the best,” Tyler laughed.

 

“Fuck you, Phil,” Emma said, and followed Jack.

 

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you too Blackery!” Phil called after him.

 

“Mr. Lester, please, refrain from foul language on school grounds,” Mrs. Wojcicki called as she passed them.

 

“Whatever,” Phil said, shrugging.

 

The bell then rang, and they parted for class, Luke, Tyler and Troye to their first period, Jack joining Phil and Dan, and Emma vanishing for whatever class she had first – Phil still didn’t know what year she was in, though he didn’t really care. Phil carried Dan until they reached the classroom, where he let him down in front of their desks, or rather, Dan’s desk and the desk some blonde kid in glasses was sitting at. Phil gave the kid a look, and he immediately gathered up his things and darted to an empty desk in the back. Jack laughed as he took the other empty desk in the room, behind Dan’s. The frail looking maths teacher gave them all looks of irritation before calling for order and starting the lesson.

 

Phil didn’t give the maths teacher an ounce of his attention as the lesson went on. Rather, he spent the next hour watching Dan as he half absently doodled on his notebook, taking down a note every now and then. He loved the way Dan twisted and swirled the pen over the margins, forming an intricate patch of flowers connected by vines.

The bell rang and Dan quickly shut his notebook, not realizing that Phil had been watching the entire time, and they grabbed their bags and left for the next class, history. Though his eyes were fixed forward and he had his usual menacing scowl on his face, Phil slipped his hands into Dan’s as they walked. Dan squeezed it gently as they passed Mark and Felix going in the other direction. Phil didn’t even look at them.

At lunch, Phil was intending to sit with his friends with Dan, but after they got their lunches, Dan began walking towards the other end of the cafeteria, away from the table where Phil and his friends normally sat. Phil glanced between them, wanting to follow Dan but not wanting to upset his friends. But Emma waved him on and the Irish Jack gave him a thumbs up and a large grin.

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll watch the kids,” Jack said.

 

“Yeah, go get ‘em, Dad!” Joe mockingly called.

 

“Stop calling us dad!” Phil sighed, but he rolled his eyes and followed Dan. It was a running joke among their group that he and Jack were the ‘dad’s as they were older, and Jack in general acted like a dad. Phil wasn’t sure how he ended up a dad as well.

Dan had taken a seat at a table near the doors, where a bunch of girls and a few other boys were sitting. Phil saw Tyler and Troye taking a seat across from Dan as he approached the table, and he gave a curt nod to his friend.

“Hi, Phil!” Tyler called, grinning broadly at him. “Coming to sit with your adorable boyfriend?”

“Yeah,” Phil said, trying to ignore how his ears were getting uncomfortably warm. Dan smiled at him and patted the bench to the right of him; Phil slipped in next to him, and automatically put his arm around Dan’s waist. Dan scooted closer to him on the bench, laying his head on Phil’s shoulder for a moment before turning his attention to his lunch.

Phil looked around the table, gauging faces and trying to remember names. He saw Louise Pentland and Joe’s sister, Zoe, a boy he recognized from his Spanish class, Joey he thought, PJ L-something, Phil knew it was an Italian sounding name. Next to Tyler and Troye was another girl with bushy, curly brown hair he knew from maths, and directly across from him were Ingrid Nelson and Hannah something, Hart or Harold Phil thought. He couldn’t help but feel as though he were the outsider, this wasn’t his crowd and he barely knew anyone there but Tyler and Dan. So he chose to focus on his pizza and just listen to their talking.

“I think he’s going to finally ask me out,” Zoe was saying.

“You said that last week,” Joey called out.

“Yeah, but this morning he asked me what I normally do on the weekends!” Zoe told him, her eyes bright and her face excited. “And he asked if I specifically was busy Saturday night.”

“You work Saturday nights,” Ingrid pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but I have some off time coming up,” Zoe said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“You said that last week,” Joey said again. “And you were wrong.”

 

Zoe’s shoulders dropped and she glowered at Joey, or at least she tried, Zoe Sugg had a reputation for being much too sweet for anyone to take her seriously when she got mad. “Well, why don’t you add thunder and lightning to the torrential downpour you’re sending over my parade.”

“You’re free tonight, though,” Dan reminded her.

Zoe perked up. “Oh yeah!”

 

“Because you’re going to my Halloween party?”

 

Zoe’s shoulders dropped. “Oh, yeah.”

 

Dan rolled his eyes.

 

“You’re having a Halloween party, Dan?” Phil asked.

 

“Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you, you’ll come, right?”

 

“Sure,” Phil said, giving a nod. “But I don’t have a costume.”

 

Dan shrugged. “I don’t really care. You can come as a grumpy punk.”

 

Phil gave a scowl and the table all laughed. Dan beamed at him and dropped a kiss on his cheek, then started to talk with Louise about the party later.

Phil looked at his boyfriend, studying the curve of his hand as he rested it on his cheek, the glint the light was putting on his hair and the flat white earrings he was wearing, the shimmer of his polished nails. Dan fit in here, among the girls with curled hair and bright lipsticks and the painted nails of even the boys. Even Joey, who was on the football team, had expertly manicured nails.

“What did I miss?” called another voice, making Phil look up. A second boy, with soft brown hair captured in a gray beanie, was dropping down next to him. The boy twisted off the lid of his Pepsi, glancing around, then did a double take to look at Phil, almost choking on his drink.

“Shit, did I sit at the wrong table?” he said.

“No, Connor, you’re at the right table,” Tyler said. “Phil’s just decided to join us for the day.”

“Why?” Connor said, looking at Phil with confused eyes. Phil raised an eyebrow.

“He’s been gone for a week,” Tyler said to Phil, “forced family vacation.”

“It wasn’t anywhere near a vacation,” Connor sighed, “I was stuck in one room the entire time and there was no wifi or cell service.”

“That sounds like a method of torture,” Dan said, leaning across Phil and picking a piece of pepperoni off his pizza.

“Hi, Dan,” Connor said, then frowned again. “Wait, what did I miss?”

Phil rolled his eyes and picked up a slice of his pizza to bite into, but Dan’s hand appeared, taking his chin and turning his face to meet his. Dan pecked his lips, then let go and Phil, smiling a little, continued with eating his pizza.

Connor blinked. “What.”

The table laughed.

“Phil and Dan started going out the day you left,” Louise said.

“It’s still the talk of the school,” Joey said.

“What,” Connor repeated.

“Apparently stalking and constant harassment works wonders,” Dan admitted.

“No, it was the tight jeans you were,” Phil confessed. “I can’t resist a great ass.”

“Thank you, baby,” Dan said with a sweet smile. Phil grunted something under his breath, feeling flustered by Dan calling him ‘baby’ in front of his friends. Tyler snickered at him, and Phil kicked him under the table.

Lunch went on; Tyler and Dan both stole some of Phil’s chips, Joey asked Phil who did his hair, and Connor asked Dan if he could go home with him so Dan could paint his nails, as Connor’s father had made him take the paint off before the forced family vacation.

“Sure, but we have to take the bus this time, my mum can’t pick me up,” Dan said.

“I’ll drive you,” Phil said before Connor could answer.

“Oh, you don’t have to, Phil, Connor and I will be talking the whole time about silly stuff you’re not into and I’ll probably ignore you most of the time, at least until my Halloween party gets started,” Dan said with half a laugh. Phil shrugged.

“That’s what happens every time Tyler drags me over to his house,” he said. “I’ll drive you, fairy, I don’t mind.”

“Oh, fine. Thanks baby,” Dan said, pecking him on the cheek.

Phil turned red, then Joey said something. “What I want to know is how Tyler and you were friends already, Phil,” he said. “Because he’s just like Dan and you literally hated him last week.”

“I never hated Dan,” Phil said around a bite of pizza, “I was just mad at myself because I was too chicken to come out and tell him that he has a sweet ass.”

Dan giggled. Joey shrugged, “Anyway, how were you already friends? Tyler has never told us.”

“Yeah, tell us, Lester,” said Louise.

Phil swallowed his mouthful of pizza before he answered. “First year of primary school, I pushed him on the playground and said he looked like a girl, then he dumped water on my head and told me I smelled like a wet dog, the teacher made us sit in a large bucket for ten minutes.”

“We’ve been inseparable ever since,” Tyler added.

“That gave me more questions than answers,” Joey said.

“But what about Mark and Felix?” PJ asked. “You’re the same with them, and they’re horrible.”

Phil shrugged. “They’re dickheads. We met them in the second year of primary school, right Tyler?”

 

“Halfway through,” Tyler said with a nod.

“Yeah, we did a science project together and managed to blow up a table.”

“I kinda backed off the two of them after they hit puberty and realized that they liked calling gay boys faggots,” Tyler said. “Phil stuck with them, I stuck with him, but I didn’t really talk with the two of them as much.”

“Well, they can go and fuck themselves now,” Phil said. “Luke, Emma, Jim, Irish Jack and Joe all said the same, so they’re on their own now.”

“Good,” Connor said. “I hated those two.”

“So did I,” Dan admitted. “I never could understand how Tyler could stand them.”

“I didn’t!” Tyler said. “I told them I didn’t want to be friends with someone who was going to make fun of my sexuality.”

“They didn’t though,” Phil said softly, “at least not specifically yours. They still respected you.”

The table was quiet then. Tyler was staring at Phil, and Phil was staring at his plate. The crust of his last piece of pizza had a burnt spot on its edge.

“They still told the jokes and said the slurs, and a lot of them were to your face,” Tyler said. “They still told you so many deprecating things and were horrible about homosexuality to you.”

Phil shrugged. “They’re assholes, and I told them to fuck off. End of the story.”

Tyler looked like he had something else that he wanted to say, but he sighed and looked away. The table was still quiet, but slowly they returned to their talking and eating. Dan set his head on Phil’s shoulder, snuggling into his side and reaching for his hand. Phil gave it a squeeze. He saw Mark and Felix leaving the cafeteria, on their own, and looked away when they looked towards him.

As the bell for the end of the day rang, Phil jumped out of his seat and, ignoring his Spanish teacher yelling at him to come back and pay attention to the homework assignments, walked through the center of the already forming crowd towards the French classroom. He had to wait outside until Dan left, because Dan was still a giant nerd and would stay to listen to the last ten seconds of whatever unimportant waffle the teacher was saying. Eventually, the door opened and students began to trickle out. After a large group went by, and Dan still was inside, Phil pushed his way towards the door and stuck his head in. Dan was still sitting at his desk, talking with Connor and the blonde kid that Phil had forced to move before maths that morning.

“Charlie, it’s literally four words!” Dan said. “How can you not remember it?”

 

“I’m not good at French, don’t you realize that by now?” Charlie, as he was apparently called, sighed.

Dan shook his head, then saw Phil standing by the door. “Oh, hey babe, one second.”

Phil waited while Dan and Connor finished putting away their things and their conversation with Charlie. Finally, Dan walked up to him, Connor in tow, and linked his arm through Phil’s.

“Hey, Connor’s going to stay the night and I’m going to get Troye and Tyler and a few other people to come over later, so you should stay tonight too.”

“I’m pretty sure that your mum would kick me out,” Phil said.

“She’s not there tonight,” Dan said. “She’s at my nan’s, taking a bunch of my cousins trick-or-treating at my nan’s church. I managed to get out of it because there’s a test on Monday and I told her that I have to study.”

“There’s a test on Monday?” Phil said, looking down at him. “In what class?”

“French,” Dan said.

“Damn, you had me scared for a second there,” Phil muttered.

“Why were you scared?” Connor asked.

“Because if I flunk one more class and get held back one more time, my dad will literally ground me for the entire year,” Phil said.

“You’re afraid of your dad grounding you?” Connor said.

“Grounding at my house means no electronics of any kind and cleaning out the attic and basement and doing every piece of yardwork that we pay the family across the street to do,” Phil said. “I’m not interested in giving up my video games or phone for three months again.”

“Again?” Dan said.

“I’m not repeating the story,” Phil said.

“Is it the story of how you ended up in London for three days and got put in jail for a week?” called Emma.

“No, and I’m not repeating that one ever again either,” Phil said.

“What?” Connor asked.

“Then it’s the story of how he and Jack snuck out and actually prostituted themselves to buy twenty movie tickets,” Luke said.

“You did what?” Dan asked.

“That did not actually happen!” Phil shouted at Luke.

“Yes it did,” Jack sighed. “We got at least three hundred pounds, maybe three fifty.”

 

“They’re terrible father figures,” Luke told Dan. Phil rolled his eyes.

“What did you need twenty movie tickets for again?” Emma asked.

“Because you had to have a sweet sixteen party and you refused to let us plan one,” Phil snapped.

“Aw, you planned her sixteenth birthday party?” Dan asked.

“Poorly,” Emma said. “I had to buy a ticket for myself because they forgot to count me.”

“It’s the thought that counts,” Jack said.

“The point is that it did not happen and we are never talking about it again,” Phil said.

“I agree,” Jack said. Then added, “I still have nightmares about that one lady sometimes.”

“No!” Phil said. “We are not talking about it!”

“What happened?” Connor asked eagerly.

“We are not talking about it!” Phil shouted.

“All I’ll say is that she was old enough to be my mother’s great grandmother and she wanted us to wear cat ears and whiskers,” Jack said with a visible shudder.

“What?” Dan and Connor gasped together. Phil groaned, but Emma took pity on him and hit Jack on the back of the head. As Jack cursed and swore at her, they exited the building and found Tyler and Troye, with the other kids that had sat at Dan’s table at lunch, sitting on the curb and waiting for the bus.

“Tyler, why am I not driving you home?” Phil shouted.

“Because we’re going to Troye’s house to get his car,” Tyler said. “I’ll show up to Dan’s party later.”

“It’s a party?” Phil said.

“A small one,” Dan said. “Because it’s Halloween.”

Phil shrugged. “As long as I don’t have to wear a costume.”

“Don’t worry, I have one for you,” Tyler said.

“No!” Phil shouted.

“Yes!” Tyler laughed.

“I refuse!”

“Dan will love it,” Tyler said. “You will get super lucky with it on.”

“He’s going to be lucky tonight no matter what he wears,” Dan said.

“Girl, you’re going to spoil him!” Tyler said. “He’s got to work for it!”

“Fine,” Dan sighed, “Phil, please wear Tyler’s costume.”

“What is it?” Phil sighed.

Tyler grinned. “You’ll see.”

 

Phil groaned, throwing his head back and mouthing a few foul words up at the few clouds in the sky. “What the hell did I get myself into,” he muttered.

 

But then Dan slipped his arm around Phil’s waist, and rested his head on Phil’s shoulder, and Phil couldn’t feel grumpy anymore. Though he managed to retain the expression.

 

It ended up being at least four people other than Dan and Connor that Phil had to drive. Joey, Louise, Zoe, and a boy Phil didn’t even know all managed to squeeze into the backseat, granted, Zoe was sitting on the second boy’s lap. Connor and Dan took the passenger seat, Dan sitting as close to Phil as possible. As Phil parked the car outside Dan’s house, the other boy, Alfie Zoe had called him, opened his door and he and Zoe exited the car before Phil had even cut the engine.

 

“I hope you have candy for trick-or-treaters,” Louise said to Dan as they headed for the backdoor.

 

“Oh, of course,” Dan answered her, “my mum bought much more than necessary.”

 

“Obviously, the extra is for us,” Joey said. “Your mum is psychic.”

 

“My mum is not psychic,” Dan said, unlocking the door. He hit it with his hip, and it swung inward. “She bought a bunch, then forgot that she bought it and bought more.”

 

“So she’s just forgetful,” Phil said.

 

“Something like that, yes,” Dan sighed. “Alright, since you agreed to come before I cleaned up, you have all volunteered to help with party prep.”

 

“Shit, Zoe, what did you get me into?” Alfie said with a laugh.

 

“Oh, hush, the only cleanup will be his parents’ office,” Zoe told him.

 

“Have you seen the office?” Phil asked her.

 

“Yes, on many occasions,” Zoe said with a sigh.

 

“Well, not even my mum will recognize it after we’ve picked up,” Dan said. “If we spill even a drop of booze on their papers, Mum’ll sniff it out and I’ll get grounded for three months.”

 

Almost an hour later, the dining room finally looked like a dining room; Phil didn’t know how Dan knew where to put every piece of paper, but he did, and the room was completely transformed. The rest of the house was clean enough, according to Dan, and he locked the door to his parent’s room before Louise could check it for cleanliness. He did let her and Joey do all the decorating, with the rest of them doing as they were told. By six, the house was neat and properly spooky, with snacks and drinks on the dining room table, which had been pushed against a wall to make space in the middle of the room. Somewhere along the way, Dan and Connor disappeared to put on their costumes and paint Connor’s nails – both of them wore matching sharp suits, cat ears and painted whiskers –, which lead to the rest of the group ducking in and out of the guest room to change into their own costumes. Not long later, a car horn sounded outside, and Dan opened the front door to wave to Troye and Tyler, parked in the driveway.

 

“Hey, girl,” Tyler called as he got out of Troye’s car. “I brought the goodies.”

 

“Not pot brownies,” Dan said, “I am not eating those again.”

 

“No, they’re not pot brownies,” Tyler insisted, “it’s beer.”

 

“Oh, that’s fine,” Dan said. “Put it in the dining room.”

 

“Should I ask why you have to make sure that Tyler isn’t bringing pot brownies?” Phil asked.

 

“Says the boy who sold his virginity for a movie ticket,” Tyler quipped as he passed them. Dan sniggered.

 

“I didn’t sell my virginity!” Phil shouted after him. “I lost my virginity two years before that happened!”

 

“Sure, Phil,” Tyler said.

 

“Shut up, Tyler,” Phil muttered. He could hear his best friend cackling all the way to the dining room.

 

Two other boys and two girls had come with Troye and Tyler; Phil recognized Ingrid and Hannah from earlier, and the two boys from the many times he had made fun of them. He felt a bit bad about it by then.

 

“Dan, why couldn’t we bring pot brownies?” asked one of the boys.

 

“Because you projectile vomited all over my mother’s china cabinet, and there is a permanent stain on the rug in the dining room, Chris,” said Dan.

 

“Yeah, Chris, you and pot brownies do not mix,” said the other boy.

 

“Shut up, PJ,” said Chris. Phil chuckled under his breath. Then Tyler was beside him, holding a tote bag and wearing a diabolical grin.

 

“Dan, would you mind if Phil changed into his costume in your room?” Tyler asked.

 

“Of course not, go ahead,” Dan said, giving Phil’s arm a squeeze. “Promise me it’s sexy?”

 

“While it is difficult to up Phil’s already impressive sex appeal, I think I’ve managed,” Tyler said with his nose in the air. Phil simply smirked triumphantly, having not been aware until just then that he had impressive sex appeal in even Tyler’s eyes, who was usually very hard to please.

 

Tyler dragged him into Dan’s room and shut the door behind them, locking it for good measure. He dropped the tote bag onto Dan’s bed and something sparkly spilled out.

 

“What the hell are you putting me in, Tyler,” Phil asked immediately.

 

“Oh, that’s not yours, that’s mine,” Tyler said, lifting it to reveal it as a circus ringmaster’s tailcoat. He tossed it aside and took something else from the bag. “This is yours.”

 

Phil gave a grin. “I actually like that.”

 

Tyler smirked. “I know, I’m a genius. Now, let’s get you suited up.”

 

Ten minutes later, Tyler having changed into his ringmaster costume as well, they left Dan’s room, Phil wearing a complete pirate’s getup; he had the billowy white shirt that exposed his entire chest, a blue trench coat, a cutlas, form-fitting black pants and swashbuckler’s boots. He even had a feathered hat and an eyepatch.

 

“Oh my god,” Connor gasped, then laughed as they exited the room. “Tyler, what did you do to Phil?”

 

“I present the 18th century punk, Philip the Lecherous,” Tyler announced.

 

“Wait, what does lecherous mean?” Phil asked.

 

Tyler giggled, then said: “You after you’ve had a few beers.”

 

Phil narrowed his eyes, but then shrugged and started looking for Dan. He found him sitting in the sitting room beside Troye, who was wearing a tiger costume. Phil guessed that it was to go with Tyler’s. Half of the people filling the sitting room, Phil didn’t even have a clue as to who they were and the other half he only vaguely recognized. As he moved closer to the couch where Dan was, Dan looked up and gasped loudly.

 

“Oh my god, Phil!” Dan said, his face flushing. “Tyler was not kidding.”

 

“Do I look like the best fucking pirate you’ve ever laid eyes on?” Phil asked, striking a pose, thrusting his hips forward and tipping his feathered hat.

 

“The best,” Dan said, then he stood up and beckoned him closer. Phil stepped over to him, and Dan pushed him down onto the couch, then set himself on his lap. Phil grinned as Dan snuggled into his chest, his fingers curling around the collar of his coat.

 

Within the hour, Phil had already finished two beers and was starting on his third. Everyone there had done at least three jello shots each, and he could tell that half of them were sloshed or would be before midnight. Phil could handle his liquor quite well, so while the rest of the lightweights were slurring and stumbling and laughing madly, he was watching with amusement.

 

“Hey!” shouted Tyler around half one. “Who’s up for a few games?”

 

“Definitely,” Connor called, “as long as I get to make out with someone.”

 

“Just not me,” Joey said quickly, throwing a hand up and giggling a little.

 

“Hey, that was a mistake!” Connor protested.

 

“Twister!” Dan called, already holding out a mat. “Who wants to hold the spinner?”

 

“Me!” Louise said.

 

“Who’s gonna play?” Tyler asked him, half shouting still.

 

“Everyone!” Dan declared.

 

Everyone included those who were still left. Zoe and Alfie had vanished somewhere around midnight, as well as Grace and Mamrie, and a few other boys had left with them. Dan laid the Twister mat out on the floor of the living room, and Joey, Connor, Tyler, Troye, and the two boys that Phil had learned were PJ and Chris gathered around it. Dan gave him a little push, so Phil stepped closer as well. Louise dropped onto the armchair and tucked her feet up under her. Ingrid and Hannah appeared from the dining room, and Hannah gasped, then ran up, declaring her love of Twister.

 

Phil flicked his gaze around the room, and made a quick estimation of how many of the boys he knew were at least a little bit gay. When his total came up to everyone, he smirked and shrugged off his coat, tossing aside his hat with it.

 

“Ooh, Phil’s getting serious,” Tyler giggled.

 

“Alright, first call,” Louise said.

 

“Wait, what order are we going in?” Dan asked.

 

“Oldest to youngest,” Tyler said, grinning devilishly at Phil.

 

“Fine, who’s oldest?” Louise asked.

 

“Phil,” Tyler answered.

 

“Okay, Phil, left foot green.”

 

Phil looked down at the mat, and moved his left foot an inch forward.

 

“Who’s next?” Louise asked, slurring a little.

 

“I don’t know,” Dan answered with a shrug.

 

“Fine, Connor, you go, right hand yellow.”

 

After Connor was Troye, who ended up right next to Phil. Then Joey stepped in front of Connor, giving the boy an excellent view of his ass, Phil guessed. Ingrid went after him, making the game a little less gay, but not by much since she and Hannah were lesbians. Then went Tyler, then Hannah, then Chris, PJ, and finally Dan.

 

“I think we should go in groups of two,” Ingrid said to Louise, “since that took so long.”

 

“Well, alright, alright, um, who went first?”

 

“Phil and Connor,” Dan said, hiccuping a little.

 

“Both of you, left hand red.”

 

Phil bent over and set his left hand on a red spot, conveniently going in between Dan’s legs. There were wolf whistles and Dan giggled, patting his head.

 

“Joey and Ingrid,” Louise called, “right foot red.”

 

“Tyler, Hannah, left hand blue.”

 

“PJ, Chris, left foot green.”

 

“Dan, right foot yellow.”

 

Dan caught Phil’s eye and smirked as he moved his foot to a yellow spot, putting his crotch right in front of Phil’s face. Phil looked up at him and grinned, then winked.

 

“Okay, everyone, keep an eye on those two or we’ll end up getting kicked out early,” Connor called.

 

“Oh, I don’t care if you lot are still here,” Dan answered him.

 

“Kinky,” Hannah quipped. “Who’s next, Louise?”

 

Five minutes later, Tyler and Joey were out after Tyler fell on him, accidentally grinding on him a little in the process. The next round Hannah ended up contorting too far and falling over, almost knocking the legs out from under Troye. Phil was bent backwards, straining to keep his core tight and his ass off the ground, when Louise gave Dan the call for right hand red.

 

“I think I like this position,” Dan said to Phil as he reached over him. Phil raised an eyebrow, a smirk curling his lip.

 

“I thought you were a devout bottom,” Phil said sarcastically.

 

“You never know, I do like to try new things.”

 

“Do you mind not talking dirty to each other where everyone can hear you?” Connor asked. “Or at least not where I can hear and get sad because I’m all alone?”

 

“You can talk dirty to me!” Chris called.

 

“Hey!” PJ said.

 

“Oh, yeah, sorry, PJ is talking dirty to me already,” Chris slurred.

 

“When did that happen?” Dan asked them.

 

“Could I have my next call, Louise? Because I’m getting shaky,” Phil asked.

 

“With those incredible biceps, really?” Louise giggled. “Right foot green.”

 

“It’s already on green!”

 

“Fine, right hand blue.”

 

Phil hastily transferred his weight, flipping himself and dropping his hand onto a blue spot. He sighed, glad that he was now facing downward.

 

“Phil, I thought you were a devout top,” Tyler called.

 

“Oh, shut it, you little shit,” Phil said.

 

Then Connor collapsed, taking down Chris and PJ with him, leaving Ingrid and Troye left with Dan and Phil.

 

“Who’s even next?” Louise muttered. “Ingrid, left foot blue!”

 

“All I’m doing is moving my feet,” Ingrid muttered.

 

“And I’m done,” Troye gasped, falling to the ground. His arm hit Ingrid and she stumbled, stepping off the mat.

 

“Does that count as going out?” Tyler asked. “Because I want to play a different game now.”

 

“You know what, Tyler, I declare Dan and Phil the winners,” Louise said, “but only because they’re just too sexual right now.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, were we trying to act sexual?” Phil asked, looking up at Dan.

 

“Nope,” Dan grinned. “I just really love your ass.”

 

“I love your ass,” Phil told him, before hiccuping.

 

“Oh, make them stop!” Connor moaned.

 

“Not happening!” Dan laughed.

 

“Let’s play strip poker!” Tyler shouted.

 

“Oh, no,” Connor sighed.

 

“Oh, yes!” Dan laughed.

 

Phil glanced around the room and wondered whether he ought to step up and prevent the teens around him from doing something stupid.

 

Then he decided he’d rather do the something stupid with them.

 

Tyler found a deck of cards in Dan’s game drawer, then had everyone gather on the Twister mat.

 

“What kind of poker?” Joey asked.

 

“Indian poker,” Hannah said.

 

“I dunno what that is,” Troye said, slurring a lot now.

 

“It’s where everyone gets one card, and they hold it up to their forehead so you can’t see your own card and you either fold or bet based on what everyone else has and after everyone’s gone you look at your card and the person with the highest card wins,” Tyler explained in a slurred rush. “Person with the lowest card strips. Let’s play it.”

 

“Okay,” Dan said, as he was dealing. He passed a single card to everyone, then raised his own card to his forehead. “Everyone, cards up.”

 

Phil raised his own card, wishing he could have looked at it. He glanced around, seeing too many cards that were probably higher than his. Tyler caught his eye and grinned.

 

“Everyone, fold or don’t fold,” Dan said, leaning back on an arm.

 

Hannah leaned over to look at Phil’s card, then quickly folded. Phil decided that he ought to stay in. Connor and PJ also folded, then Dan called.

 

Phil’s was a king. He had the highest card but for Tyler and Dan, who both had queens.

 

“I feel like this card represents me spiritually,” Tyler said as Troye tugged his shirt off, having held a two.

 

“My spirit animal,” Dan added, leaning towards Tyler. They both giggled, Tyler making eyes at Troye. Dan passed another round of cards.

 

“Fold or don’t fold!” Dan said, gleefully holding his three to his forehead. Phil looked around and saw one other three, held by Joey. He smiled to himself.

 

“Call!” Tyler shouted, then dropped his card, likely on accident. He flushed and checked it, then laughed. “Okay, Dan, Joey, both of you strip something.”

 

“Fuck this,” Joey said with a laugh as he tugged off his shoes.

 

“Hey, that’s not nearly enough!” Chris complained.

 

“Take your socks off too,” Louise suggested.

 

“You do not want me to take my socks off,” Joey said.

 

“Do not take your socks off,” Connor said quickly, moving away from Joey. “And put your shoes back on.”

 

Phil raised a hand to his nose. “Dude, put your shoes on.”

 

“Wow, never thought I’d be the one to have to put clothes back on,” Joey muttered to himself as he put his shoes back on. Then he tugged off his shirt, tossing it at Connor. “There you go, you rat.”

 

“I don’t want this!” Connor complained, throwing it across the room. Joey giggled to himself as Dan passed out more cards.

 

“Dan, you have to strip!” Tyler shouted.

 

“I did, I took my socks and my tie off!”

 

“That doesn’t count!”

 

Dan shifted himself, then stuck his feet in Phil’s lap. “It does, because Philly here will get turned on by my bare ankle,” he said with a sniff. Phil shrugged.

 

“You have very sexy ankles,” he told Dan obligingly. Dan giggled.

 

“Fold or not!”

 

“Fold!” Louise said. “Not risking it.”

 

“I risk it!” Hannah said. “Call!”

 

“No, hang on, I fold,” Troye said, throwing down his card.

 

“Call!” Joey shouted.

 

Ingrid and Connor had fours, Hannah had a ten, which was the highest of the lot. Phil had a five, at which Dan pouted that Ingrid and Connor had lower cards. Ingrid took off her sweater, but had a tank top underneath, while Connor took off his suit jacket and tie.

 

“Hey, sexy,” Joey said with a laugh.

 

“What, first I’m a rat, then I’m sexy?” Connor huffed. “Go find your own boyfriend.”

 

Joey pouted. “He couldn’t come.”

 

Connor let his mouth fall open and pointed dramatically at Joey. “Do you see this boy?” he called. “Someone get him some saltpeter!”

 

“That doesn’t affect performance at all, actually,” Phil said.

 

“How do you know that?” Ingrid asked him.

 

“We went to a Catholic primary school,” Tyler said.

 

Dan looked at him, one eyebrow raised. Phil shrugged.

 

“He got held back in our last year,” Tyler added. “So it’s a bit less creepy.”

 

“Moving on,” Connor sighed. “Dan, deal!”

 

He dealt, Phil saw two aces in this round.

 

“Fold or don’t fold, I don’t give a fuck.”

 

“No folding!” Tyler shouted. “Call!”

 

He and Phil threw down their cards at the same time, they others following, a few with grumbles.

 

“Ay!” Tyler laughed. “Phil has to strips! Phil has to strip,” he corrected himself.

 

Phil shrugged, then casually tugged his shirt off; Dan scooted closer to him while Tyler wolf-whistled. Phil dropped a kiss onto Dan’s forehead then flexed a little. Dan giggled.

 

“I have a question,” Chris called. “Who invited Adonis?”

 

“I invited him!” Dan said. “Shut up Chris, let me enjoy my boyfriend’s shirtlessness.”

 

Chris shrugged. Tyler grabbed the cards from Dan and dealt another round.

 

“Fold or don’t! Call!”

 

Troye, Dan and Ingrid suffered with twos. Dan unbuttoned his shirt while Ingrid tossed aside her tank top, and Tyler laughed delightedly while Troye tugged his pants off.

 

“We have our first exposed boxers!” Tyler said, grinning and much too pleased with himself. Troye blushed heavily.

 

Phil slipped his arm around Dan’s waist, pulling him onto his lap. Dan wrapped his arms around his neck then pressed a kiss to his lips.

 

“Hey, you two can go and snog after we’re done playing!” Tyler called.

 

“Fuck off, Tyler,” Phil said, busy nuzzling Dan’s neck.

 

“No, no, I’m physically preventing myself from dragging Troye-boy off, you two have to wait!”

 

Dan pouted, but slid himself off of Phil’s lap, making Phil draw in a tiny gasp as he did. Dan smirked at him, then took a card from Tyler.

 

“Fold or don’t, who’s folding? No one gets to fold, never mind. Call!”

 

“Oh, not fair!” Louise sighed as she revealed to be the only one with two. “I’m wearing a dress!”

 

“Take your pantyhose off,” Dan told her.

 

“I’m not wearing pantyhose!”

 

“Louise, it’s fishnet, I can see it.”

 

“Oh yeah.”

 

“Fold or call? Call!”

 

“Ooh, Troye’s got a three,” Joey giggled.

 

“But I have a two,” PJ said. “And so does Phil.”

 

Phil yanked off his boots, PJ took off his shirt.

 

“Is Troye gonna have to take off his boxers?” Tyler sang. “Call!”

 

“Shame,” Joey sighed. “Troye’s safe for now.”

 

Chris, Hannah and Connor took their shirts off.

 

“Is anyone going to fold? Joey, don’t fold,” Tyler said, making Joey hesitate before raising his four back up to his forehead. “Okay, call!”

 

“Bitch!” Joey laughed, realizing his was the only four.

 

“You’re welcome,” Tyler laughed while Joey removed his pants. “Take your card, Phil, stop staring at Dan’s chest! Fold or no? No? Call!”

 

“Craaap,” Ingrid laughed, seeing her two.

 

“Ooh, nice,” Hannah said, seeing Ingrid’s two.

 

“Stuff it, Han, you’ve got a two as well,” Tyler said; he passed out more cards as the two girls took their jeans off. “You’ve got three seconds to fold, one, two, three, call!”

 

“Fuck,” Phil sighed, seeing his three.

 

“Yes please,” Dan giggled as he dropped his own three.

 

“I have a three too!” Chris said. “Don’t forget me!”

 

“No one could forget about you,” PJ said. “Not with those boxers.”

 

“He hasn’t even taken his pants off yet,” Connor said. “Is everyone here horny?” He glanced around, then caught Phil throwing his pants onto the couch. “Never mind.”

 

“Hey, he’s mine!” Dan said, removing his own pants. Phil sat back down, leaning on the couch and crossing his legs at the ankles. Dan sat himself directly next to Phil, then leaned in and whispered in his ear: “Nice boxers.”

 

Phil flushed; Dan giggled, his breath tickling Phil’s ear, then shifted and draped his legs across Phil’s lap, leaning back on his elbows.

 

“Everyone take new cards,” Tyler slurred, “fold or don’t fold, call!”

 

“I fold!” Troye said.

 

“No you don’t!” Tyler said, picking up his card and holding it up to his forehead for him. “Call!”

 

“Ha, you have a three!” Troye said.

 

“So do you, baby,” Tyler laughed.

 

“Shit,” Troye muttered.

 

“Nudity alert!” Joey shouted. “Look away, look away!”

 

Troye found a pillow, then held it in front of him while he shimmied out of his boxers. Tyler tossed his shirt onto the couch, then fake grabbed at Troye’s pillow as he sat down. Tyler laughed while Troye squeaked and hugged the pillow more tightly, then handed out more cards.

 

“Troye’s out, who’s gonna be out next? Fold or nah?”

 

“I think the girls’ bras and panties should count as one piece of clothing,” PJ said, “so it’s more even.”

 

“I fold!” Ingrid said.

 

“Why not,” Hannah sighed, dropping her own card.

 

“Dan, do you have like blankets or something for them when they get out,” Tyler asked, pointing to Ingrid and Hannah. “Cause, they probably don’t want their tits hanging out.”

 

“Yes, Dan, please,” Ingrid added.

 

“There are a million afghans right behind your heads,” Dan said, gesturing to a shelf stacked with board games and knitted blankets. “Have at them.”

 

Troye looked up, then tugged down a blanket, swapping the pillow for it.

 

“Call!” Tyler shouted.

 

“Shiiitt,” Joey sighed. “Please someone tell me they’ve got a two?”

 

“I have a three,” PJ said unhelpfully.

 

“Looks like you’re taking your boxers off, sorry,” Tyler said, already taking off his pants.

 

“Damn,” Joey mumbled. “Troye, toss me a blanket.”

 

The two boys removed their last piece of clothing, then Joey draped the blanket over their laps. Chris scowled at Joey, then curled an arm possessively around PJ’s shoulders.

 

“Take your damn cards, guys! Fold or not?”

 

“No folding!” Dan said. “No more folding until everyone is out.”

 

“Not fair,” Louise sighed. “Everyone has huge cards.”

 

“Do I have a huge card?” Ingrid asked her.

 

“Don’t tell her!” Hannah protested.

 

“Call!” Connor said.

 

Louise had a three, being the lowest card. Dan unzipped her dress for her and she folded it neatly to set on the couch, now wearing just her matching pink bra and panties.

 

“Expecting someone, were you?” Dan asked her.

 

“Shut up,” Louise muttered, folding her arms over herself.

 

“Fold –”

 

“No folding!”

 

“Call!”

 

“I have a two,” Ingrid sighed. “Throw me a blanket.”

 

“Shit, I have a six,” Hannah muttered under her breath, only loud enough for Phil to hear her. Ingrid wrapped herself in the blanket, then dropped her bra into Hannah’s lap. Hannah laughed and set it with her shirt and pants.

 

“Something tells me that Hannah and INgrid are leaving soon,” PJ said while Tyler passed out more cards.

 

“Hey, I’m not out yet!” Ingrid protested to Tyler, who threw a card at her.

 

“Call!” Tyler said, then added to Ingrid, “You are now.”

 

“Oh, no,” Ingrid sighed, dropping her three. “Fine.” Phil wasn’t paying attention to her, however, as Dan had gotten a three as well. He grabbed a blanket off the couch, then draped it over himself and Phil, then slid his boxers off. He folded them and handed them to Phil, who smirked and set them on the couch. Dan wriggled closer to him under the blanket, pulling his legs off his lap and leaning on his shoulder.

 

“Who’s still in?” Tyler said.

 

“Me, Chris, Louise and Phil,” Connor said. “And Hannah.”

 

“And me,” Tyler said. “Have a card, everyone.”

 

“Here’s to wishing Phil a two,” Dan said, crossing his fingers.

 

“Here’s to wishing Hannah an ace,” Ingrid laughed.

 

“Hey!”

 

“I’m not ready to leave yet!”

“Call!” Connor cried.

 

“Ha, it’s a five!” Hannah said.

 

“It’s a four,” Phil said to Dan.

 

“I’ve got a three!” Chris sighed.

 

“So do I,” Tyler said. “But I have socks!”

 

“No, you don’t, socks don't count!”

 

“Fine,” Tyler sighed. “Share the blanket.”

 

Dan took the cards from Tyler while he joined Troye under the blanket and removed his underwear. Dan passed them out, pausing to swap Phil’s card as he did. Phil rolled his eyes but took it, while Hannah crossed her fingers.

 

“Louise, do you have a three or a four?” Connor asked.

 

“Three,” Louise sighed. “Give me a blanket, Troye.”

 

“Why am I the blanket man?” Troye muttered as he handed both Connor and Louise blankets.

 

“Who’s still in?” Dan asked. “Hannah and Phil, right?”

 

“No, I’ve still got my bra,” Louise sighed.

 

“If Phil loses, are you two going to vanish on us?” Connor asked.

 

“If Phil loses, I win,” Dan said with a grin.

 

“Raise your hand if you’re too drunk to drive,” PJ called.

 

Everyone but Louise and Phil raised their hands.

 

“Dan, you’re gonna have people staying the night,” PJ said matter of factly. “Since obviously Phil isn’t leaving and Louise doesn’t have her license yet.”

 

“You can’t drive?” Phil asked.

 

“I can, just not legally,” Louise said.

 

“I don’t give a shit who’s staying over, my parents are in a hotel an hour away from here and won’t be back until like noon tomorrow,” Dan said.

 

“What are your parents doing in a hotel?” Connor asked.

 

Dan wrinkled his nose. “Anniversary is next week.”

 

Connor’s eyes widened and he leaned back, nodding, then he fell over and flashed the group his ass.

 

“Nice,” Tyler laughed as Connor hastily pulled his blanket down. “Nicer ass.”

 

“Shut up,” Connor hissed, laughing as he did.

 

“It’s not like we haven’t seen it before,” Troye added with a shrug.

 

“Do not!” Connor insisted, grabbing a pillow and chucking it at Troye. “That never happened!”

 

“What happened?!” Chris asked in a gasp.

 

“No!”

 

“There was a french maid’s costume involved –”

 

“I will murder you!”

 

“Upon second thought, the threat of death is too great,” Troye decided.

 

“I’m dealing the cards!” Dan said.

 

“Quick question,” Hannah asked as she took her card from Dan. “Who get’s the guest room?”

 

“You and Tyler have to fight to the death for it,” Dan asked, yawning.

 

“Rock paper scissors,” Tyler said. Hannah gave Ingrid her card, then held out her hands to fight Tyler for the guest room.

 

“Hah! Scissors!” Hannah said, snipping at Tyler’s flat hand. “We get the guest room.”

 

“Good, I hate sleeping on couches,” Ingrid sighed.

 

“Does anyone get to use your parent’s room?” Louise asked.

 

“You do,” Dan decided. “And Connor.”

 

“Why them?” Joey whined.

 

“Because they won’t have sex in it,” Dan said.

 

“I’m not having sex tonight! Can’t I use their room too?” Joey said, but then his phone chimed and he paused to check it. “Never mind,” he said, setting his phone down. “Daniel is going to come pick me up.”

 

“You’re at Daniel’s house,” Chris said.

 

“The other Daniel!” Joey sighed.

 

“Oh, right.”

 

“Call!” Phil said, dropping his card. It was a three.

 

“Three!” Hannah shouted. “I’m out.”

 

Phil reached under the blanket, then shucked his boxers easily. Louise, who had a seven, raised her arms and whooped.

 

“Hah, I win!” she said.

 

“I win,” Dan said. “Night!”

 

“See you in the morning, lover boys,” Connor mocked them as he and Phil stood up, still wrapped in the blankets.

 

“Bye,” Phil said, letting Dan drag him away. Tyler waved to them, grinning at Phil.

 

“Use protection!” Tyler shouted.

 

“Keep it down!” Troye added.

 

“We’ll try,” Phil told them. Dan shut his door behind them, then looked up at Phil. They both laughed.

 

The next second, Phil was kissing Dan, lifting him up and carrying him to the bed. Dan was giggling in his ear, but it quickly turned to moans as Phil began to suck at his neck. Dan pressed his hands to the small of Phil’s back, his mouth finding Phil’s ear.

 

“I’m so in love with you,” Dan murmured, and Phil was too absorbed in his beautiful body to realize that Dan wasn’t as drunk as he thought.

 

They fell asleep sometime later, limbs tangled and still naked. Phil dreamt of Dan whispering _I love you_ in his ear, and of saying it back.


	3. part three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone knew of Phil Lester’s deep hatred for Dan Howell. Everyone knew that Dan Howell was the gayest gay man to ever gay. Everyone assumed that Phil hated Dan because Dan would not stop hitting on Phil, and everyone agreed that even they would be irritated by that much flirting, however everyone did not know or even guess that Phil Lester really hated Dan Howell so much because Phil actually wanted to make out with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~WRITTEN FOR PHANDOMBIGBANG~  
> Hello, thanks so much for reading this fic. This is my first real phanfic, at least it’s the first I’ve published. This whole experience with Phandom Big Bang has been amazing. I wanna thank my beta, my artist for this fic, and my wife who asked me to write this. Well, she’s not really my wife, I just call her that. Platonic wife, y’know? Because we bicker like an old married couple and I write things for her from time to time. Anyway, thanks to all those people, and here’s the fic. I don’t write very long A/N’s.  
> Fanart: http://nymphdan.tumblr.com/post/153181616031/i-think-im-falling-in-love-hi-hi-hi-3-this

* * *

  _ **part three**_

 

__

There was sunlight on his face when Phil woke up, and at first he thought that the sun was what woke him. He raised a hand to block it, then saw the two boys standing in the door.

 

“Dan!” one of them hissed. “Dan, your parents are in the driveway!”

 

“What?” Dan mumbled. “It’s half past nine, that’s impossible.”

 

“They are, Ingrid and Louise are helping them bring in groceries!”

 

“What?” Dan gasped, more awake now. “Shit!”

 

“Wha’s goin’ on?” Phil mumbled, then Dan shoved him off the bed. “Ow!”

 

“Where are his clothes?” Dan whisper-shouted at the boy, who Phil realized was only one boy, and Connor.

 

“I have them,” Connor said, throwing them in.

 

“Oh, shit, what about the beer cans? The vodka bottles?”

 

“Louise and I cleaned up last night,” Connor said. “Just soda and food out there now.”

 

“Oh, Con, you’re the best,” Dan said. Phil was trying to find the tee shirt and jeans he’d been wearing the night before, when he heard a woman’s voice coming closer. Dan gestured at him wildly, then grabbed a shirt for himself and threw it on. Phil tugged on his boxers, then grabbed a blanket off the floor and pulled it over himself, laying down on the floor.

 

“Dan, we’re home,” Mrs. Howell stuck her head in the room, Phil pulled his head down below the top of the bed, hoping she couldn’t see him. He looked under the bed, watching their feet. Connor stepped out of her way so she could enter the room. “Don’t mind us, we’re just stopping by to drop off a few things before we go meet some friends for lunch.”

 

“Kay, mom,” Dan said.

 

Mrs. Howell stepped closer. “Dan, who’s on the floor?”

 

Shit, Phil thought.

 

“That’s just Phil,” Dan answered. “He’s asleep.”

 

Phil dropped onto the floor and cradled his head with an arm, opening his mouth and shutting his eyes.

 

“Hmm. Well, don’t forget to take the trashes out tonight, Dan. We’ll see you later.”

 

“Yes, mum.”

 

Phil opened one eye, he saw a pair of brown stilletoes leaving the room. He sat up a moment later, then looked at Dan, raising his eyebrows.

 

“You need to remember that you’re six two, and your feet stick out past the bed,” Dan said to him dryly.

 

Phil looked over to his feet, then grimaced when he realized that his legs stuck out half a meter past the bed.

 

“Sorry,” he said. Connor glanced out the door, then raised his hands in a thumbs up. He turned back to Dan and gave him a thumbs up.

 

“Mum’s gone,” Connor said.

 

“Great,” Dan yawned. “Who’s up for breakfast?”

 

Nearly everyone had a hangover, save Louise, Phil and Connor. Dan’s was mild compared to Tyler’s, which was a walk in the park compared to PJ and Chris’s.

 

“I want to watch cutesy Halloween movies and eat waffles,” Ingrid grumbled as the ten teenagers gathered in the kitchen.

 

“I second that,” Troye said, leaning on her.

 

“I third it,” Hannah echoed, leaning on Ingrid’s other shoulder.

 

“Cutesy Halloween movies and waffles, coming up,” Connor said, already bustling about the kitchen with the air of one who knew the layout. “Tyler, where did you put the waffle mix?”

 

“I don’t know,” Tyler mumbled. “Ask Louise.”

 

“It should be in one of the cupboards,” Dan said.

 

“I’ve got it,” Louise said. “The waffle maker is under the counter, in the island, Connor.”

 

“Found it,” Connor said. “Does anyone want blueberry waffles or plain?”

 

“Blueberry!” Troye said, grinning.

 

“Plain,” Tyler said.

 

“I’m just gonna make half plain half not,” Connor said.

 

“Thanks, love,” Dan said, patting Connor on the shoulder. Phil looked up at him, a sudden memory hitting him. He blushed, and looked down at his feet. Did Dan tell him that he was in love last night?

 

“Phil, will you get those mixing bowls down?”

 

The sound of Louise asking him a question snapped him from his reverie. “Sorry, what?”

 

“The mixing bowl,” Louise repeated, pointing to a shelf above her head. “Please, oh tall Adonis?”

 

“I’m calling him that from now on,” PJ laughed as Phil plucked the mixing bowls form the high shelf easily. “Tall Adonis.”

 

“As opposed to Small Adonis,” Troye said.

 

“Which one of us is Small Adonis?” Tyler asked.

 

“Dan!” Hannah laughed. “So it’s Tall and Small Adonis.”

 

“Smol Adonis,” Louise corrected. The group laughed. Dan caught Phil’s eye and smirked. Phil smiled a little back, but his thoughts were still stuck on remembering the night before, Dan whispering, I’m so in love with you…

 

“I’m stealing orange juice, Dan.”

 

“Just don’t drink all of it again and throw up, Chris.”

 

“That was one time!”

 

Not long later, Connor had finished making waffles and the group gathered in the lounge, spreading out on the couches and chairs. Dan and Phil took the recliner, while Connor, Troye, Tyler and Louise took the longer couch and Ingrid and Hannah took the second armchair. PJ and Chris sat on the Twister mat.

 

“I don't get why we can’t sit on the couch,” PJ grumbled.

 

“Because you’ll spill syrup all over it,” Louise scolded them. “Now hush.”

 

“One time,” PJ muttered to himself.

 

“I know the feeling, mate,” Chris sighed.

 

“Hush!” Louise and Connor said.

 

They watched Hocus Pocus while they ate their waffles, and after the movie had finished they moved back into the kitchen under the command of Louise to wash dishes.

 

“I don’t wanna wash dishes,” Dan whined.

 

“Daniel Howell, this is your house, if we don’t wash now, you’ll have to do all the washing later.”

 

“No I won’t! Phil’ll stay and help me, right?”

 

“Definitely, sure,” Phil said, checking tumblr on his phone. Louise plucked the phone from his hands, replacing it with a dish towel, silently raising her eyebrows at him when he protested.

 

The others looked at them, their eyes wide and their mouths open, silent. Phil scowled and took the dish towel.

 

The other teenagers, excluding Dan, all laughed and whooped. “Congrats, Phil, you’ve submitted to Louise’s mum stare,” PJ said as he clapped Phil on the shoulder.

 

“You’re officially one of us,” Troye said, grinning a little. “And I don’t have to be afraid of you beating me up anymore!”

 

“I’ll still beat the shit out of you if needed,” Phil threatened, though the pink dish towel made it sound flat.

 

“Oh, shut up, Phil, you’re not beating up anyone,” Tyler sighed.

 

“I think it’s sexy,” Dan said.

 

“You think everything he does is sexy,” Connor reminded him.

 

Dan gestured to Phil’s figure. “Can you blame me?”

 

Connor sighed, then shook his head. Phil rolled his eyes.

 

Once everything was cleaned up, and the clock read half past noon, the hangovers were nearly gone. Chris and PJ left, followed soon by Ingrid and Hannah, leaving Connor, Troye, and Tyler alone with Dan and Phil. They watched more cutesy Halloween movies until it started to get dark and trick-or-treaters began to show up. Dan gave Phil the task of handing out candy, who did it seemingly begrudgingly, though in all honesty, he didn’t mind. His mum texted him a while later, asking if he would be coming back for dinner, and Dan told him to tell her he was staying the night again. Tyler laughed at Phil’s blush, and Connor rolled his eyes.

 

October finished with a full moon and crisp air that was becoming bone-chilling. In the first few days of November, Phil and Dan did very little but hang out at Phil’s house, going to Dan’s occasionally when neither of his parents were home. Dan’s father returned from New York over November’s first weekend, but left again for London the next weekend. That week, Phil took Dan to a movie, and kissed him during the boring parts.

 

Their school was having its annual fall fundraiser; a fair of sorts, where rigged games and apple bobbing contests were set up and a few rides were provided. There was a ferris wheel, a few kiddie rides, and two high speed rides. There were five different games designed to humiliate teachers, and Phil’s favorite was the pie toss. He and Dan went together, and Phil hit their history teacher in the face with a coconut cream pie.

 

They rode the ferris wheel next, and Phil kissed Dan when they reached the top.

 

“Guess what,” Dan whispered.

 

“What?” Phil asked him.

 

Dan pressed another kiss to Phil’s lips, their basket swinging as the ferries wheel began to move again. “I think I’m falling in love.”

 

Phil pulled Dan closer and kissed him deeply. He didn’t say anything, but he hoped Dan felt what he wanted to say in their kiss.

 

They held hands as they left the ferris wheel; Phil bought them both cups of hot apple cider and they sat together at a picnic table with their friends.

 

The day was perfect so far, and as they laughed and had fun with their friends, Phil thought that nothing could spoil it.

 

“Fucking faggots.”

 

Felix’s voice made Phil’s good spirits plummet. Talk at their table cut out instantly, and Phil turned to look at Felix, who was standing near them with Mark, who looked distinctly uncomfortable.

 

“Fuck off, Felix,” Phil told him.

 

“What happened to you, Phil?” Felix pressed. “You used to give a shit about who you hung out with, you used to be cool.”

 

“I think I’m still pretty cool,” Phil snapped, “you’re the asshole.”

 

“We’re all assholes!” Felix shouted. “That was our thing, we were the assholes who always stuck together! Now you’re hanging out with faggots and you ignore us!”

 

Phil rose from his seat and strode over to Felix, his glare shooting daggers at him. “I don’t give a fuck about what you think,” he growled, “and I don’t care that you’re a bigot and a dick, but don’t expect me to think about condoning it.”

 

Felix sneered at him. “Condoning?” he said. “First you turn into a faggot, now you’re a fucking nerd?”

 

“Felix, piss off, come on,” Mark said. Phil jerked his glare on him.

 

“The both of you are horrible!” Phil said. “I don’t know why I hung around you for so long!”

 

“Because we were friends!” Felix spat. “But you know, I don't get why we hung out with you either, because you’re a dickhead, a nerd, and a faggot!”

 

Phil punched him, his fist slamming into Felix’s face, and he swore he heard Felix’s nose crack again. Felix fell backward, falling into Mark; he touched at his nose, now streaming blood, and surged at Phil with a shout of anger. He ducked his fist and grabbed his arm, twisting it around his back, making Felix cry out. He threw him down, then kicked him in the back. Felix scrambled up, and landed a punch to Phil’s stomach.

 

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

 

“Phil, no, stop it!”

 

“Felix, come on, cut it out!”

 

Phil grabbed Felix’s head and cracked it on his knee; Felix staggered again, wiping blood away from his face. His nose was definitely broken twice over now, his lip was split and his left eye was puffing up already.

 

“I don’t know why I ever wanted to be your friend!” Phil shouted.

 

“Was it because you’re a fucking queer and you liked my ass?” Felix jabbed.

 

Phil aimed a kick at him, but Felix dodged and punched him in the side. “You son of a bitch!”

 

“Come on, Phil, fight me like a man,” Felix shouted, “if you can do that after all the dicks you’ve sucked!”

 

“Says the little pussy,” Phil spat, and he kicked Felix in the gut, making him stagger and wheeze, trying to catch his breath.

 

“Cut it out!”

 

Phil ignored Dan’s voice and kicked Felix again; he fell to the ground, and Phil kicked him, twice, three times, he kept kicking until someone grabbed his arms and wrestled him back.

 

“Phil, stop it, you’re gonna kill him!”

 

“Get off me, Mark!” Phil snapped.

 

“He’s down, you beat him, let him go!”

 

Phil ripped himself away from Mark and glared at him, panting. Mark met his scowl evenly, but not with a glare of his own. Rather, his eyes were sad.

 

“The fuck is wrong with you?” Mark asked.

 

“What’s wrong with you?” Phil shouted back.

 

“Look at him!” Mark shouted, gesturing to Felix, still lying limp on the ground. “He’s nearly unconscious, I’m gonna have to take him to the hospital!”

 

“He deserves it!”

 

Mark stepped back, his glasses flashing in the dying light and the look of shock on his face making Phil lower his still clenched fists. “I get that you hate him,” Mark spat, “I get that you hate me too, and we deserve that, but if you’re willing to beat someone until they need a doctor, you really gotta think about which of us is the real monster here.”

 

Mark pulled Felix to his feet, and started to leave. Phil stood there, his hands hanging by his sides, startled.

 

He turned, and saw his friends watching him; he found Dan, and the fear in his eyes made Phil’s stomach drop.

 

Phil wiped blood from his mouth and walked away. He got in his car and drove back to his house. His parents weren’t home yet, so he cleaned up in the bathroom in silence and went back to his room. He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling in darkness.

 

Mark and Felix weren’t at school the next day. And Dan didn’t sit with him. At lunch, Phil sat with Jack, Joe, Luke, and Emma, their group quiet. He could hear them judging him, and left halfway through the lunch period. He couldn’t stand their quiet, and they didn’t stop him.

 

He didn’t know what to do, so he left the school. He got in his car and drove away, not to any place in particular, not with any goal in mind. He drove aimlessly until he lost track of time and even where he was, until he realized that he had just passed Dan’s house.

 

Phil turned the car around, driving slowly by his boyfriend’s house, looking for what he didn’t know. His mother’s car wasn’t there, but the lights were off. Phil pulled into the driveway, not even knowing what he wanted to say; he got out of his car and walked up to the back door. He stood there for a while, a minute, maybe ten, he couldn't be sure, until he screwed up the courage to knock on the door.

 

A moment later, it opened, and Dan looked surprised to see him.

 

“Hey,” he said, and the awkwardness in his voice made Phil want to wince. “What’s… what’s up?”

 

“I, uh, I…” Phil trailed off, then shrugged. “I don’t even know.”

 

“Is this about yesterday?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Did you want to apologize?”

 

Phil shrugged. “I guess.”

 

Dan hesitated, then he turned and grabbed something from inside. He stepped out of the house, shutting the door behind him. “Come on then.”

 

“Wait, where are you going?” Phil asked, following Dan.

 

“Where does Felix live?”

 

“What?”

 

“You said you wanted to apologize.”

 

“To you!”

 

“You didn’t do anything to me.”

 

Phil stopped in his tracks. Dan paused by Phil’s car, looking back at him. He raised an eyebrow.

 

“Why should I apologize to him?” Phil asked, but his voice was flat.

 

“You heard Mark,” Dan said calmly. “Which one of you is the monster in this situation?”

 

Phil sighed and moved to the driver’s door. He unlocked the car, and they got in. Phil started the engine, then backed out of the driveway.

 

They didn’t talk as he drove. Felix’s house was closer to the school, but a good fifteen minutes from Dan’s. Phil parked the car on the street, and cut the engine. He sat there for a moment, then looked at Dan.

 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Dan asked.

 

“No,” Phil muttered. Dan took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Phil looked over at him and smiled softly, feeling somewhat grateful that he was being forced to swallow his pride. Dan leaned over and kissed his cheek.

 

“Go on,” he murmured. Phil nodded and left the car.

 

He opened the storm door and knocked on the front door, then waited. The bell was broken, so he didn’t try to ring it. It was a shame. The bell at Felix’s house was old fashioned, and actually a bell; he’d always enjoyed excessively ringing it whenever possible. That was partly why it was broken.

 

The inner door opened, and Felix’s swollen eyes widened. “The fuck are you doing here?”

 

“I came to apologize,” Phil muttered.

 

“What did you say?” Felix said. “I can’t hear you.”

 

“I came to say that I’m sorry,” Phil said, louder now. “I went too far.”

 

Felix stared at him a minute. “You’re sorry?” he said.

 

“Yes,” Phil said, gritting his teeth. He meant it, though. He was sorry that he’d crossed the line in attacking Felix. He was sorry that he had kept kicking even after Felix had stopped fighting back. He wasn’t sorry for breaking Felix’s nose, however.

 

“Well, you know what Phil,” Felix said, “I don’t want your apology.”

 

“Too bad,” Phil said. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Get out of here,” Felix snapped. “Go back to your faggot boyfriend.”

 

Phil clenched his fists. “You’re still an asshole,” Phil spat. “You’re still pathetic, and a moron. But you know what, I’m not sorry that we’re not friends anymore. I’m just sorry that I got carried away, because I sank down to your level for a bit there.”

 

“Get out!” Felix shouted.

 

“Gladly!” snapped Phil.

 

“Don’t talk to me again!”

 

“I won’t!” Phil promised. He spun on his heel and stormed away; Felix slammed the door, and Phil heard glass breaking as he did. Phil smirked a little; Felix would have to pay to replace that.

 

He got back into his car and started the engine again; Dan waited until they had left Felix’s block to speak.

 

“That didn’t look like it went well.”

 

Phil reached over and took Dan’s hand. “It went great.”

 

Dan looked at him, his brow furrowed. “Do you feel better?”

 

Phil nodded. “He doesn’t have to forgive me,” he said. “I just had to apologize.”

 

Dan gave a little smile. Phil put the car in gear and they drove back to Dan’s house. They played Mario Kart until Dan’s mother came home, and pursed her lips disapprovingly at Phil again. Phil said his goodbyes not long after she walked in; he really wanted to kiss Dan, but he couldn’t with his mother in the next room. He didn’t want to upset him, or her. So he just left. He kissed his own mother and had small talk with his father during dinner, then went up to his room and watched Steven Universe on his laptop until he fell asleep.

 

A buzzing near his head woke him up. Phil groped around in the darkness until his fingers touched something cold and he picked it up; he winced at the light, then frowned. He answered the call and held the phone to his ear.

 

“What’s up, Dan?” Phil mumbled.

 

“Oh, god, you were asleep, sorry.”

 

“It’s fine, babe. What’s up?” he asked again, now sitting up and feeling a little more awake.

 

“Um, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ comes out in an hour.”

 

“Does it?” Phil yawned, quickly covering his mouth.

 

“Wanna go see it?”

 

Phil looked over at the clock. It was only a little past 11. That felt strange to him, for some reason.

 

“Yes.”

 

Phil’s parents were asleep by then, so they didn’t hear him leaving; Phil drove quickly to Dan’s house, then cut the headlights and slowed to a stop at the front curb. Dan was waiting in the driveway when he pulled up, and ran to the car as he braked. Dan jumped in, then held up two printed tickets.

 

“We’re lucky,” Dan said, “there were only two left for the nearer theater.”

 

“Let’s go find some fantastic beasts,” Phil said with a smirk. Dan grinned back.

 

The movie ended sometime past two, and Dan was positively glowing. He kept fangirling over the magic, the spells, Eddie Redmayne’s coat; the entire movie in general. Phil watched him squeal in glee and felt like fangirling over Dan. They went for ice cream and sat at a picnic bench, Dan still raving and Phil still smiling.

 

“Oh, the Niffler!” Dan clapped a hand to his heart. “Oh, it was so cute! Oh my god, it was precious.”

 

Phil leaned over and kissed him quickly. There was chocolate on his lips, and Dan giggled as Phil licked it off.

 

“Phil?” Dan whispered.

 

“Yeah?” he answered.

 

“I think I’m in love with you.”

 

Phil kissed him again, his arm curling around his waist and a hand slipping into his hair. Dan got ice cream on his cheek when he pressed a hand to his face.

 

Phil drove them back to Dan’s house just after three, again cutting his lights and rolling to a stop outside the house. Phil killed the engine to walk Dan to the door; he was still giggling about the movie and Phil didn’t want to leave.

 

Dan unlocked the door, then hit it with his hip when it got stuck. Phil was laughing behind his hand at something Dan had just said as they stepped into the laundry room and saw the kitchen light on.

 

“Dan.”

 

Phil’s grin dropped and Dan froze, his back turned to the kitchen.

 

Mrs. Howell slipped off the kitchen counter and walked towards them, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes dark and shooting daggers at Phil. Dan turned slowly, his face white.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Mrs. Howell spat. “It’s past three in the morning! Where were you?”

 

“I – we – we saw a movie –” Dan stammered, but his voice faltered and failed as his mother’s glare intensified.

 

“You snuck out to see a movie?” she hissed, and her eyes flicked to Phil before jerking back to Dan’s. “What the hell were you thinking?”

 

“I wanted to see the midnight showing,” Dan mumbled. “And I knew you’d say no because it’s a school night.”

 

“Of course I would have said no!” Mrs. Howell snapped, her voice rising in her anger. “It’s a school night!”

 

“I know, I just said that,” Dan muttered.

 

Mrs. Howell’s nostrils flared. “I hope that movie was worth it, Daniel James, because you are grounded. You’re not leaving this house but for school for the next month!”

 

“But Mum –”

 

“I don’t want to hear it!” Mrs. Howell hissed. “Go to your room!”

 

Dan glanced back at Phil, and Mrs. Howell’s face seemed to scrunch up even further. “Go!” she spat, and Dan pushed past her, his shoulders dropping. “And you,” Mrs. Howell raised a threatening finger to Phil’s chest; Dan stopped in the kitchen doorway, “get out! And stay away from my son, I don't want to see you near him ever again!”

 

Phil didn’t move for a little while. Mrs. Howell’s death stare intensified. “Do you hear me? Get out of here!”

 

Phil looked to Dan, whose face was even paler than before. Dan’s eyes were pleading with him. They’d figure something out, they said, he’d calm down his mother and make it all okay again. Phil set his jaw, and looked back at Mrs. Howell.

 

“Yes ma’am,” he said, and a not so little part of him died. He turned, and he left.

 

When he got back home, his mother was in their kitchen, filling a glass with water. She looked surprised to see him. Phil was struck with a sudden contrast, and with an even more sudden gratitude that his mother was so much more understanding than Dan’s.

 

“Phil?” she said. “What are you doing?”

 

“Snuck out to take Dan to a movie,” Phil said, not even caring if he got grounded too. “His mum caught us, wasn’t happy; he’s grounded, and she’s told me to stay away.”

 

His mother’s eyes had widened at the beginning of his sentence, but now she was gaping. Her glass was spilling over into the sink. “What?” she said, and Phil guessed that she didn’t even care about the fact that he had snuck out.

 

“Dan’s closeted,” Phil said quickly. “She just thinks I’m a bad influence. She doesn’t know we’re dating.”

 

“Bad influence –” she murmured. “You?”

 

“It’s the tattoos,” he mumbled.

 

His mother’s gaze dropped down, then she realized that her glass was overfilling. She switched off the water and set the glass on the counter. “Come here,” she said, gesturing to him. When he didn’t move, she strode over to him and pulled him into a hug. Phil bent down to drop his head onto her shoulder. He was getting too tall for this sort of hug.

 

“I’m sorry,” his mother whispered.

 

“Yeah,” Phil sighed. “I dunno what we’re going to do.”

 

“I don’t know either sweetie,” she murmured, releasing him. “But I can tell you that it’s okay, because you’re grounded too, and by the time the two of you are free again, she’ll have probably forgotten.”

 

Phil tried to smile, but it got lost somewhere between his mind and the muscles of his lips. His mum’s face fell, and she touched his cheek. “It’ll be alright, pet,” she said. “You’ll figure something out.”

 

He nodded. She patted his cheek, then dropped her hand to his shoulder. “Go on to bed, sweetie,” she said. “It’s really late.”

 

The next morning, Phil drove Tyler and Troye to school, and while they laughed and chatted in the back seat, he was quiet, and when Tyler asked him what was wrong he just shrugged. He saw Mrs. Howell sitting in her car near the courtyard, he guessed to watch him and Dan to make sure Phil stayed away. Phil met Dan’s eyes across the courtyard, then jerked his head towards the school. Dan gave a nod, then started talking to Louise Pentland. Phil watched him until he felt someone poking him in the shoulder.

 

“Trouble in paradise?” Emma asked him.

 

“Bitchy mums,” was all Phil said.

 

“Can’t be worse than mine,” Emma snorted. “She threw Luke out yesterday when she saw us making out on my bed.”

 

Phil raised an eyebrow at her. “Since when have you and Luke been snogging in your room?”

 

“Apparently since yesterday,” Jack said, then added in a conspiratorial voice, “I think it’s because Em knows exactly how long his dick is.”

 

“Oh, fuck off, will you!” Emma laughed, leaving Luke just as red in the face as his hair.

 

The bell rang a minute later, and the students made their way inside to classes none of them liked and teachers that liked them just as much. Phil doubled back once he was inside and waited for Dan to make his way past the doors, then grabbed him and pressed a kiss to his lips. Dan wrapped his arms around his neck and tangled his hands in his hair.

 

“Please refrain from public displays of affection, Howell, Lester.”

 

They skipped History and locked themselves in a bathroom stall; they did the same at lunch, and halfway through English Phil started kissing Dan’s neck, and didn’t stop until Mrs. Gilligan asked him to stop switching off Dan’s brain. Phil didn’t want to take his hands off his boyfriend, because he hated the thought of having to let go of him the second they left the building. The minute his mum pulled up was the minute he’d have to pretend as if they were just friends. Phil hated the thought.

 

So it was for a few weeks; Phil’s mum let him off after two, but Dan was grounded well past then. They spent every lunch hour in the bathrooms making out, but Phil wanted more. It was December, and Dan’s mum was still mad about them sneaking out.

 

from Fairy < 3: _I can’t do much about it_

 

to Fairy < 3: _could u like clean the whole house or something? suck up to her for a bit? maybe that would make her less mad?_

 

from Fairy < 3: _i did that already_

 

to Fairy < 3: _damn ur mum is a hard ass_

 

from Fairy < 3: _dont remind me_

 

Phil gave a groan and flopped backwards on his bed; he dropped his phone onto the ground, having no idea what to do to help Dan. It buzzed again, and Phil rolled over to check it.

 

from Fairy < 3: _come over tonight_

 

Phil raised an eyebrow. Dan began typing, stopped, then sent another text.

 

from Fairy < 3: _my parents are both dead tired bc of the new client and they went to bed already if you come around 12 or 1 theyll be asleep_

 

Phil checked the time; it was half past ten. He grabbed his phone and texted him back.

 

to Fairy < 3: _i’ll be there after 12_

 

The next two hours went by slowly; Phil felt like several days could have filled the time between ten and twelve. He tried watching Netflix, then a cartoon, but kept getting up. He ended up writing an essay draft because he was so anxious; leave it to the anticipation of seeing his boyfriend to make him become productive, he thought. Finally, the clock on his phone said it was past midnight, and Phil grabbed his keys to leave. He checked his parents room to make sure they were asleep, then tiptoed downstairs and out the kitchen door. He was at Dan’s block in fifteen minutes, but parked a little farther from his house and walked the rest of the way there.

 

to Fairy <3: _i’m here_

 

from Fairy < 3: _come around the side, i’ll let you in the window_

 

Phil doubled back in the driveway, darting around the front of the house to the side where Dan’s room was. He saw a low light and moved towards it, then saw a silhouette cast on the blinds covering the window. He tapped on it, and the blinds lifted. Dan grinned at him, then pulled the window open. Phil stuck his head in, then pulled himself inside. He swung his legs over the sash, then shut the window behind him.

 

Dan threw his arms around Phil’s neck and crushed his lips in his; Phil grabbed his ass and Dan jumped up, wrapping his legs around his waist. Phil pushed his tongue inside Dan’s mouth, and Dan sucked on it. Phil staggered towards the bed, dropping Dan onto it, then pushed him back and leaned over him, now kissing his neck.

 

“I missed you so fucking much,” Phil growled into his collar bone.

 

“I missed you,” Dan muttered into his ear. “Oh, god, I missed this.”

 

Phil started tugging at Dan’s jumper, then pulled it off of him. Dan kissed along his jaw, Phil shucked his own shirt and began undoing Dan’s jeans; Dan pressed his hips upwards into Phil’s, and Phil growled as he kissed him roughly.

 

They made love, biting their lips to keep their moans quiet. Phil couldn’t let go of Dan; he didn’t want. They curled up in Dan’s bed, the both of them still naked, their limbs tangled together and their bodies pressed close. They fell asleep, then Dan shook him awake just before dawn.

 

“My parents will be getting up soon,” he whispered. Phil nodded, then kissed him.

 

“I’ll see you at school,” Phil told him.

 

Dan hugged him, and Phil couldn’t bring himself to let go. They heard voices outside, soft ones still half asleep, and Dan pulled back.

 

“I love you,” he said.

 

Phil still didn’t say it back. He just kissed Dan, dressed, and left through the window. He walked back to his car, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his breath fogging in the cold December air. He drove back to his house, where his parents were still asleep, and pretended as if he’d never left.

 

Dan’s parents finally let Dan off the hook the week after, but his mother was still adamant about the company he kept. Dan told Phil afterwards that she hadn’t specifically mentioned him, but Phil knew that that was what she had meant. He could tell that Dan hated to go behind his mother’s back so much, and while part of that touched Phil, that his boyfriend was such a mama’s boy, he began to worry that Dan’s mother’s looming presence over their relationship would be too much for them. The thought terrified him.

 

“Why don’t you just ask him to tell his mum?” Emma asked Phil. The five of them were sitting in her living room, eating crisps and watching Deadpool on her dad’s 40 inch TV.

 

“You don’t get it,” Phil said, “I can’t ask him to come out to his parents if he doesn’t want to!”

 

“He’s literally king of the gays at school,” Jack said. “What’s he so scared about? Are his parents super religious or something?”

 

“No,” Phil sighed. “Look, none of you have ever had to come out before, alright? It’s one thing to come out at school where you can go home at the end of the day, but at home, if your mum or your dad aren’t completely okay with it, it can ruin the rest of your life while you’re still living with them!”

 

“Fair point,” Jack mumbled.

 

“Lemme just say,” Emma said, her voice altered by half-chewed crisps in the hollow of her cheek, “that part of that is not true.”

 

“What part?” Phil asked incredulously.

 

“The part about none of us coming out before.”

 

Phil frowned, then he looked at Jack. “Were you and Mark not actually faking it?”

 

Jack turned beet red. “I’m not gay!” he insisted.

 

“I was talking about me, jackass,” Emma said.

 

“When have you come out before?” Luke asked.

 

“When I was fourteen,” she said. “To my mum.”

 

“You never told us,” Joe said.

 

“I didn’t?” Emma said, looking between the four of them. She swallowed her mouthful of food, then added: “I’m bi.”

 

“Good to know,” Luke said.

 

“Alright, three of you have never come out before,” Phil said. “My point still stands. Even if you’re sure your parents aren’t going to mind, it’s still harrowing.”

 

“Since when do you use words like harrowing?” Joe laughed.

 

“Since he started dating Dan,” Emma told him. “He got a B on the last Biology test and everything.”

 

“Hey, good for you Phil,” Jack said. “OH SHIT, BOOBS!”

 

Phil rolled his eyes at his straight guy friends. He didn’t get why a two second clip of some boobs worked them up so much. Then again, he was _really_ gay.

 

“I think you should tell him how you feel,” Emma said, though her eyes were glued to the TV as well.

 

“I dunno,” Phil sighed. “I’m just… I’m worried that his worrying about his mum might make him want to break up with me.”

 

“Hold up!” Jack said. “Okay, pause the movie, what did you just say?” Joe scrambled to grab the remote and hit pause; the screen froze centered on a pole-dancer who was nearly naked. Emma grabbed the remote from him and skipped forward a few seconds to a point where there were no strippers.

 

“I’m worried we might break up, okay?” Phil snapped. “Don’t judge me.”

 

“Bro,” Jack said seriously. “This just became next level shit. We gotta get you two back on track.”

 

Phil just looked at him, confused. Jack rolled his eyes. “Phil, the two of you are like the power couple of the school; we get benefits from you dating!”

 

“Like what?” Phil spluttered.

 

“History teach agreed to change my grade on my last essay,” Emma said, “didn’t ever do that before you dated Dan.”

 

“Yeah, and I finally got Michelle to go out with me last week,” Joe pointed out. “I’ve been trying to win her over for _months_.”

 

“Seriously?” Phil said.

 

“People like us better because you started dating Dan,” Jack said. “Hell, I got a B in Biology last week!”

 

“I didn’t realize…” Phil mumbled.

 

“Course you didn’t,” Emma scoffed. “It’s not like we would have told you.”

 

“On top of that,” Jack clapped him on the shoulder, “Dan’s made you really happy. If he breaks up with you because his mum is an over-controlling asshole, then your good mood’s going out the window.”

 

“I was in a good mood before Dan,” Phil protested.

 

“No you weren’t,” Luke said as Emma dramatically rolled her eyes. “You were a right bitch before you guys started dating. You were even more of a bitch then Emma,” he added with a jerk of his head towards his girlfriend.

 

“Hey!” Emma shouted, hitting Luke on the back of the head. “You’re a bitch too!”

 

“Guys,” Phil called before the two of them could start brawling right there on the couch. “I can deal with this, okay?” he said. “I don’t need any of you babying me.”

 

“Dude, we’re not babying you,” Joe scoffed. “We’re just gonna plot and scheme up some ways to make sure Dan doesn’t break up with you.”

 

“I’m already texting Tyler,” Jack said, not looking up from his phone. “He says that he’ll cover for Dan to get the two of them out for a weekend. When’s your next free weekend, Phil?”

 

“This one,” Phil said, “wait, what?”

 

“Tyler says he’s already texted Dan,” Jack replied. “You guys want to go anywhere or crash somewhere here? You can use my flat.”

 

“Hold on,” Phil said. “What’s even happening?”

 

Jack looked up at him. “Tyler is going to tell Dan’s mum that Dan’s going to stay at his house for the weekend so the two of you can get away.”

 

“There’s a Christmas village in Reading happening,” Emma said. “You guys could get a hotel up there.”

 

“Guys, slow the fuck down,” Phil demanded. “I don’t need you to work out my problems, okay?”

 

“Phil,” Emma sighed, leaning down and putting her hand on his shoulder, “look me in the eye and tell me that you’re going to fight to save your relationship with at least half the effort you use to fight for the right to sit shotgun.”

 

“Emma, I’m not an idiot,” Phil said.

 

“You are, and a passive aggressive idiot at that,” Emma insisted. “You and this boy can make it if you fight, but if you just let his mum step between the two of you, if you don’t try to fight for what you’ve got, you’re going to lose it. Do you hear me?”

 

Phil blinked at her. “Jack,” he said.

 

“What?”

 

“Now it’s next level shit.”

 

Emma’s mother kicked the boys out out around half one; they piled into Phil’s car and drove to Jack’s flat, dropping Joe off at his house on the way. Jack pulled two beers out of his fridge and offered one to Phil. Luke held out his hand and Jack raised an eyebrow.

 

“You really think I’m giving you alcohol?” Jack said. “Bitch, please, you’re barely seventeen.”

 

Luke stuck out his bottom lip. Jack shut the fridge with his foot and grabbed a church key from his counter. “Not happening,” he added to Luke, popping the cap off his beer. Phil took it from Jack and opened his own beer, then waved it under Luke’s nose.

 

“Assholes,” Luke said. Jack rolled his eyes.

 

“You’re an asshole,” Jack said. “And you’re on the couch this time.”

 

“Why am I always on the couch?” Luke cried.

 

“Because the second bedroom is mine,” Phil said, sticking his nose in the air.

 

“Move in already, then,” Luke grumbled.

 

“Yeah, shut up,” Phil said, ruffling Luke’s hair as he walked past him into the lounge. Luke gave him both middle fingers as he followed.

 

“I’m watching _Pokémon_ , and you’re going to shut up while I do,” Jack said as he crossed to the sofa. “Move your ass to the other end of the couch.”

 

Luke sighed, but moved his ass to the other end of the couch. Phil took the armchair.

 

They ended up watching only two episodes, and it didn’t matter that the second bedroom in Jack’s flat was unofficially Phil’s, because they all fell asleep in the lounge.

 

Jack shook them awake not long after seven, telling them he’d already made eggs. They ate at top speed, then got into Phil’s car to go pick up Emma (Joe, for some fucked up reason, wanted to take the bus, Phil guessed it had to do with Michelle). Emma made Luke get out of the front seat, curling up under her seatbelt after Phil shouted at her to wear it and falling asleep again almost instantly. Phil envied her of her ability sometimes.

 

The half hour drive to the school was soon over, and Phil parked where he usually did. Mark’s car was across from his again. He saw a sling draped across one of the seats.

 

“Em, wake up,” Phil said, unbuckling his seatbelt. Emma flapped a hand at him dismissively. “We’re here, you gotta get up.”

 

“Fuck you,” Emma mumbled.

 

“Love you too, now get up.”

 

Phil walked behind the others up to the school, his hands shoved deep in his pockets to ward off the bitter cold of December. He watched Dan get out of his mother’s car, watched her wish him a good day and blow him a kiss, then Dan shut his door and started towards the building. No one was hanging around outside that morning; it was too cold. Phil looked back over to Mrs. Howell’s car, and met her gaze across the parking lot. Her mouth was set in a frown, her eyebrows drawn tightly together in a way that emphasized the lines in her forehead. Phil glanced away, then back, and nodded to her. Then he looked back to catch Emma’s arm when she tripped over the curb.

 

The halls were filled with the sounds of shouting, laughing, and the slamming of locker doors. Phil’s height gave him the advantage of being able to see over the hordes of students; he picked out Dan’s vaguely wavy hair topped with a flower crown within seconds, and began pushing his way through the crowd towards him.

 

“See you later, lover boy!” Jack called after him.

 

“Yeah, yeah, shut up!” Phil shouted back at him. “Hey Dan.”

 

“Hey, Phil,” Dan said, looking up at him and smiling. He slipped his arms around Phil’s waist and leaned into him, dropping his head onto his chest and shutting his eyes.

 

“Tired?” Phil asked, dropping a kiss onto his hair.

 

“Yeah,” Dan mumbled, his voice softened by Phil’s shirt.

 

“We were carousing ‘til the second cock,” Troye said in a voice that was full of pomp. Tyler laughed out loud and Dan stiffened in Phil’s arms.

 

“I will slap you so hard, _tu petit chienne_ , you won’t be able to suck Tyler’s cock for a month,” Dan warned.

 

“Oh, please don’t,” Tyler said, still laughing.

 

“I don’t get it,” Phil said to Dan.

 

“Drink, sir,” Troye continued, “is a great provoker of three things.”

 

“What three things?” Phil asked in confusion.

 

“Marry, sir,” Troye said, ticking them off on his fingers, “nose-painting, sleep, and urine.”

 

“I think that’s four things,” Phil frowned.

 

“Troye, stop,” Dan begged. “If I hear the porter’s lines one more time, I will go the way of Lady M.”

 

“Lechery,” Troye shouted, and Dan lunged for him, “it provokes and unprovokes!”

 

“I still don’t get it.”

 

“It provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance!” Troye called as Dan chased him across the hall.

 

“Dan had to write a report on Macbeth,” Tyler said.

 

“Don’t say the name!” Dan hissed as he skidded to a stop beside them. “You’ll make me get bad grade or something.”

 

“I have yet to understand what the fuck you’re talking about.”

 

“Shakespeare,” Troye finally explained, a little out of breath.

 

“Oh,” Phil murmured. “Yeah, I don’t get it.”

 

“Forget about it,” Dan sighed. “If I never hear the words “double, double, toil and trouble” ever again, it’ll be too soon.”

 

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes!” Troye cackled with way too much delight in the seething rage burning in Dan’s eyes.

 

“What’s up, guys?” Connor said, having the perfect timing as to walk up behind Troye a second later. Troye yelped in a very high pitch and grabbed Tyler’s arm for dear life, his face going white and then even more quickly beet red.

 

“Apparently something wicked,” Phil commented.

 

“Oh, awesome, are we finally pulling that prank on Ian and Anthony?”

 

“No, you, dipshit,” Tyler said.

 

“Wait, why are you pranking me?” Connor asked, frowning. “And why are you telling me?”

 

“Never mind,” Dan said with another heavy sigh. He buried his face in Phil’s shirt again, hugging him tighter.

 

“I don’t get it,” Connor said, as Tyler laughed.

 

The day ended with the announcement of the annual Snow Ball, reminding them to buy tickets soon. Phil rolled his eyes at it, until Dan gave a little squeal and started tugging on his arm, asking whether or not he wanted to wear matching suits. Phil turned very pink, then made eye contact with Tyler, who just grinned evilly. Phil said yes.

 

“Mum thinks I’m taking the bus to Tyler’s house,” Dan said as they left. “He told me he could cover for me all weekend. You wanna hang out?”

 

“‘Course I do,” Phil said. “What do you want to do?”

 

Dan leaned on his arm and shrugged. “I dunno. Watch Christmas movies and bake cookies or stay in your room all day. You pick.”

 

Phil flushed. “Staying in my room all day would be fruitless. My dad’s going to be home all weekend, remember?”

 

“Shame,” Dan sighed.

 

“My flat’s still up for grabs,” Jack said as he walked past. “And you’re still driving me home, because I will not take the bus.”

 

“Yeah, me neither,” Emma said. “Luke left already.”

 

Phil heaved a sigh. “Sorry, fairy, but I have to drive the kids home, because apparently their other dad can’t do it.”

 

“Hey, don't you forget who set this plan in motion,” Jack said.

 

“Jack has a flat?” was Dan’s question.

 

“I has a flat,” Jack grinned stupidly at his poor grammar. “And I won’t be in this weekend, family Christmas party that I am required to attend. Grandmas and great aunts to butter up for extra pocket money and nieces and nephews to frighten, y’know.”

 

“We don’t need your flat,” Phil said.

 

“Phil’s moving in at the end of the school year,” Jack told Dan in a hushed tone that failed to keep itself from Phil. “It’s half his flat already.”

 

“Phiiiilllll,” Dan whined, tugging on his arm, “can we stay at your flat this weekend?”

 

Phil gave Jack Emma’s blank bitch face. Jack just grinned and got in the back seat.

 

“Please?” Dan asked.

 

“Sure,” Phil sighed. “Why not?”

 

Phil dropped Emma off first, then carried on to Jack’s flat. He would be leaving on his motorbike early the next morning, to return Sunday night in time for classes on Monday. He let them in, then gave Phil the spare key.

 

“Right, I actually need to sleep tonight, so don’t keep me up with all your moaning,” Jack warned them.

 

“We’ll be quiet,” Dan promised. Phil rolled his eyes.

 

“I’m ordering Chinese,” he said. “Jack, you want any?”

 

“Course I want some,” Jack scoffed. “Have you met me?”

 

“Moo shu pork, hot and sour soup, and egg rolls,” Dan requested.

 

“Your wish is my command,” Phil replied, bowing low to his boyfriend, who giggled at him.

 

“Oh, fuck me, you two _are_ gonna be all cute and couple-y, aren’t you?” Jack sighed.

 

“As humanly possible,” Dan once again promised. Phil rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone.

 

“We’re paying cash,” Jack said to Phil as he finished the order, “and I do mean we this time.”

 

“Fine,” Phil sighed. “Yeah, cash please.”

 

“I’m picking what we watch,” Dan said as Phil hung up, dropping onto the couch.

 

“Not some Christmassy-cheesy shit,” Jack begged.

 

“Not cheesy shit,” Dan said. “But yes, Christmassy shit.”

 

Jack looked over at Phil. “I’m beginning to regret letting you use the flat.”

 

“Isn’t it half mine already though?” Phil asked.

 

“He’s on my side of the couch!”

 

“Dan, babe, Jack is very particular about his couch,” Phil sighed.

 

Dan stood up. “We can sit in the armchair then.”

 

“Good,” Jack said, dropping onto the couch. “I’m not moving until I have to go to bed.”

 

“When the food gets here, I’m not serving you a plate and bringing it to you,” Phil said. “Ever again.”

 

“Again?” Dan asked.

 

“This fucker gets sicker than humanly possible more than humanly possible,” Phil explained, “and when he does, he refuses to take care of himself properly so we have to do it for him, including bringing him food. He’s the pickiest eater I’ve ever met.”

 

“Aw, that’s so cute,” Dan said with a smile.

 

“It’s not cute when he makes you go back and separate everything onto different plates,” Phil snorted.

 

“Not that, the taking care of him part.”

 

“Oh, that, of course.” Phil puffed out his chest. “I am cuter than humanly possible in that regard.”

 

“And full of more shit that humanly possible,” Jack said under his breath.

 

“‘Scuse me, but which one of us took all the letters out of the other’s chicken soup but for the J’s?” Phil asked.

 

“Yeah, shut up,” Jack mumbled.

 

Dan made Jack open Netflix, then put on A Nightmare Before Christmas, which Jack agreed that was acceptable, despite his Scrooge-esque attitude about Christmas movies. The food arrived not long after Jack (Skellington) found Christmas town, and they paused it mid-song to get up for it. Phil and Jack split the bill, which wasn’t very high to begin with, then they took the cartons into the lounge and resumed the movie. Phil sat in the armchair and Dan sat in his lap, eating his moo shu pork and singing along to all the songs.

 

Jack went to bed after the movie, putting the rather substantial remains of his lo mein in the fridge and warning them to not eat it while he was gone. They waved him off, and Dan started up another movie, this one considerably cheesier. Phil dug some ice cream out of the freezer around midnight, topping it with hot fudge and walnuts, with sprinkles on Dan’s per his request. The movie ended a little after one a.m., and Phil put all the dishes in the dishwasher while Dan put the rest of the Chinese food in the fridge. Phil wiped his hands on a dish towel and stepped out of the kitchen, to see Dan waiting in the lounge, holding his bag.

 

“Where can I brush my teeth?” he asked.

 

“Bathroom’s through there,” Phil told him, pointing to the door to the second bedroom on the right. Dan mumbled his gratitude as he opened the door and went in. Phil checked the locks on the front door, then switched the TV off and walked into the second bedroom, picking up his bag as he went. The bathroom light had been turned on, as was the tall lamp in the corner. The bedroom didn’t have a ceiling light fixture, rather just a fan that never spun fast enough to cool the room significantly.

 

“Dan?” Phil said. He dropped his bag onto the bed and moved towards the bathroom.

 

“Hey,” Dan said, lowering the washcloth in his hands.

 

“Finding everything okay?”

 

“Yes,” Dan said. “I used this washcloth, I hope that’s okay.”

 

“It’s fine,” Phil said, waving a hand as he stepped back towards the bed. He opened it, then pulled a toothbrush from it. He crossed back to the door, then leaned against the jam to wait. Dan didn’t notice him, he was wiping his face with the washcloth. The water dripped from his chin, streams of it running over his hands and wrists and splashing into the sink. Some of the color had been taken from his face, a pink flush from the heat added to his cheeks. The water was stained a cream color. Phil frowned for a moment, wondering what was coloring the water. There were slight stains of purple under Dan’s eyes. Phil’s frown dissipated, turning in his mind to understanding. It was make up. Dan wrung out the cloth, his slim forearms twisting with the action.

 

“You’re beautiful.”

 

It came out of Phil’s mouth before he really thought it through. It was true, Phil just wasn’t sure what prompted him to say it just then. Dan looked up from the sink, his eyes meeting Phil’s through the mirror.

 

“What?” he asked.

 

“You’re beautiful,” Phil repeated, uncrossing his arms and stepping forward, into the bathroom. “You really are.”

 

Dan blinked at him. The pink in his cheeks became less of a heat flush and more of a blush. “Thank you,” he mumbled, turning off the water with his right hand. He dried his face, then hung the washcloth on a towel bar across from the toilet and stepped out of the bathroom. Phil watched him step away, his eyes caught on his ass, then shook his head slightly and moved forward to brush his teeth.

 

Dan had already changed when Phil left the bathroom; he was sitting on the bed in sweats and a loose tank top, looking at his phone. Phil pulled a clean pair of boxers from his bag and a shirt, then stepped back into the bathroom to change. He hesitated, then left the door open.

 

“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Phil asked as he stepped back into the room.

 

“Bake cookies.”

 

“Seriously?” he asked flatly.

 

“Yes,” Dan answered. “I brought stuff.”

 

Phil raised an eyebrow. “What kind of cookies?”

 

“Christmas cookies.”

 

“What kind of Christmas cookie?”

 

“Chocolate chip.”

 

Phil raised another eyebrow. “Is that a Christmas cookie?”

 

“If you make them look like Christmas trees and snowmen, they are.”

 

“Okay, Dan.”

 

Phil lifted his bag off the bed and dropped it over by the closet. He pulled a charger from it, then walked around to the other side of the bed and plugged it in as Dan pulled the blankets back and slid his legs under the sheets. Phil joined him, switching off the lamp on his bedside table. Dan then reached for him, and Phil let him curl up at his side.

 

The sound of Jack making eggs and coffee woke Phil up, or maybe it was his bladder. He slipped his arm out from beneath Dan, then rose from the bed and moved into the bathroom to relieve himself. He washed his hands, yawning as he did, then walked from the second bedroom into the lounge. The kitchen light was on, and Jack was standing with his back to lounge. Phil approached the kitchen, leaning on the island counter that divided the living room and kitchen and blearily rubbed at his eyes. Jack turned around as Phil propped his face up on his hand.

 

“Wha – oh, fuck me!” he gasped, nearly dropping his mug.

 

“No thanks,” Phil yawned. “I’ve seen you doing it. Not my style.”

 

“You sneaky little shit!” Jack laughed. “Why are you so quiet?”

 

“No clue,” Phil muttered, reaching out and plucking the cup of coffee from Jack’s hands. “Ooh, too little sugar.”

 

“Yeah, no,” Jack snapped, snatching the coffee back. “I like to taste my coffee when I drink it, thank you, you disgusting sugar addict.”

 

“Eh, details,” Phil sighed. He yawned again, then propped his head up on the counter.

 

Jack looked at him darkly, then his glare suddenly intensified tenfold and he yawned, too. “Bastard!” he mumbled as best he could with his mouth stretched wide open.

 

“Whatever,” Phil said. “You leaving soon?”

 

“Yeah,” Jack sighed, dropping onto a barstool and setting his coffee and plate of eggs down. “Parents want me there by eight.”

 

Phil glanced over at the oven clock. “It’s half past four.”

 

“It’s a three hour drive, Phil.”

 

Phil raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “Your parents are mad,” he mumbled.

 

Jack looked up at him. “They moved away almost a year ago and left me, a nineteen year old, here to finish school by myself. What do you think they are?”

 

Phil gave a shrug. “Barking.”

 

Jack shook his head and began to eat his eggs.

 

He left shortly before five, and Phil ate the rest of his eggs. He went back to bed, where Dan hadn’t yet woken. When he got back under the blankets, Dan stirred, then shifted to press himself against Phil’s side.

 

Dan woke him up a while later by dumping water on his head.

 

“WOT THEE FUUUUCK!” was the strangled cry that came from Phil’s mouth.

 

“It’s past nine,” Dan said calmly, holding an empty glass in his hands. “Come on, I want to get the cookies started!”

 

Phil peered up at him through his soaked fringe, then grabbed him round the waist and tackled him to the bed. “You little shit!” he cried, half laughing half crying from the shock, and began to tickle Dan all over.

 

“I give in, I give!” Dan shouted as he batted at Phil’s hands. “Stop it!”

 

“Not until you repent!”

 

“I repent!”

 

“I don’t believe you!” Phil growled, and tickled him more viciously.

 

“Please!”

 

“Say it like you mean it!”

 

“I mean it!” Dan shouted.

 

Phil pulled back his hands, sitting back on his heels on the bed. Dan gasped for breath in front of him, his flushed cheeks dimpled with his grin. His shirt was pushed upward and his sweat pants had ridden down, exposing the crest of his hip and the smooth skin of his stomach. His chest heaved with his breaths as he tried to quell the spasming laughter Phil had induced, and his eyes danced with an irritated mirth.

 

Phil pounced again, but instead of attacking with twitching fingers, he pushed his hands into Dan’s shirt and ripped it off him, then pressed his mouth to Dan’s pounding pulse. His laughter turned suddenly into a gasp, and then a moan. Phil sucked lightly at the skin, already running his hands down Dan’s waist to his hips to push his pants out of his way. Dan’s moans filled his ears like a symphony, and filled his cock with the need to fill him.

 

Around 11, they left the bedroom, Dan grinning broadly and Phil still kissing his neck, however Dan insisted they actually bake the cookies. They entered the kitchen, Dan practically conjured chocolate chips and granulated sugar, among other things, then set Phil to taking bowls down from the top shelf.

 

“Why are we making cookies again?” Phil asked.

 

“Because we can,” Dan said, sticking his nose in the air. “They’re delicious, and I want cookies.”

 

“Sounds legit,” Phil sighed.

 

Phil had absolutely no clue of how the _fuck_ to make chocolate chip cookies, but Dan seemed to have the recipe memorized because he had Phil measuring powders and whisking liquids like he was an actual sous chef. The oven was preheating, there was a bowl of egg-milk-vanilla concoction, and a larger bowl filled with flour, sugar, and a million other things. Phil wanted to drink the vanilla, but Dan wouldn’t let him.

 

“It’s pure vanilla!” Dan insisted.

 

“It smells heavenly!” Phil whined. Then he grinned. “Almost as heavenly as your cum.”

 

Dan turned bright red but didn’t react. “Pure vanilla does not taste heavenly.”

 

“Bullshit, nothing that smells this good can taste bad.”

 

Dan crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow. “Okay, hotshot, have a sip of it.”

 

Phil grinned and raised the bottle to his lips; Dan grabbed his hand. “Not from the bottle, you spork, pour it into a teaspoon!”

 

“Fiiinnnneee,” Phil sighed, then tipped the lip of the little bottle over a teaspoon he’d used to measure it earlier. He stuck the spoon in his mouth and immediately gagged. “WHAT THE FUCK?!” he shouted once again. “WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?”

 

“Told you,” Dan simpered, plucking the bottle of hell venom from Phil’s shock-numbed fingers and set it gently upon the counter. “Pure vanilla does not taste heavenly.”

 

“You tricked me!” Phil insisted.

 

“How?” Dan scoffed. “I told you it didn’t taste good!”

 

“Reverse psychology!” Phil claimed.

 

Dan raised his eyebrow again.

 

“It’s a thing!” Phil defended himself.

 

Dan raised his eyebrow higher.

 

“You should taste it, to make up for putting me in mortal peril.”

 

“Mortal peril – Phil, I told you _not_ to drink it!”

 

“Still!” Phil insisted. Dan raised his other eyebrow.

 

“Not happening,” Dan said, picking up a whisk. “Start to pour the flour in slowly while I whisk it in.”

 

Phil picked up the bowl of flour, then glanced at Dan. He grabbed a large pinch and flung it at him.

 

“PHIL!” Dan screeched, his shirt now closer to white than blue.

 

“Ha!” Phil laughed pointedly. Dan glared at him, then lunged for the bag of excess flour. Phil grabbed the nearest thing he could to defend himself as Dan threw a handful of it straight at his face; unfortunately, he had grabbed the jug of milk so all the flour ended up in his hair.

 

“You little shit!” he gasped.

 

“You started it!” Dan shouted, half laughing now.

 

“You’re in for it now!” Phil growled; he dropped the milk jug roughly onto the counter and surged forward, grabbing Dan about the middle. He shrieked as Phil threw him over his shoulder and flounced out of the kitchen.

 

“How do you like that now!” Phil shouted triumphantly as he began to dance around the living room, Dan still squealing and shrieking like a child.

 

“PUT ME DOWN!”

 

“Never!”

 

“YOU ABSOLUTE ASSHAT, PUT ME DOWN!”

 

“Nope!”

 

“I AM GOING TO STRANGLE YOU!”

 

“With what, vanilla beans?” Phil asked, pausing in his dancing to crane his neck over his shoulder. “Y’know, this is quite an excellent angle on your ass.”

 

“Put me down!”

 

“No, I think I’m going to appreciate the view a little while longer.”

 

“You assole!”

 

“Hey, if you ask nicely, I’ll put my cock in your asshole later.”

 

“You already did that once, now put me down!”

 

Phil hmmed, then cried: “No!” and started to dance around again.

 

A neighbor began banging on the walls, but Phil didn’t care; Dan was beating at his back, both laughing and screaming, and Phil was having the time of his life.

 

“What the fuck are you two doing?!”

 

Phil glanced around. The voice was coming from his pocket. He felt Dan grab at it, then guessed that it was coming from his phone.

 

“Oh, hi, Jack,” Dan said, rather cheerily.

 

“Hi, Jack!” Phil called.

 

“What the fuck?”

 

“What?” Phil asked.

 

“You accidentally FaceTimed him.”

 

“Oh. Sorry, Jack!”

 

“I don’t even want to know what you’re doing. Please just tell me you’re both wearing pants.”

 

“We are,” Phil promised.

 

“You don’t have to be pantsless to be doing naughty things,” Dan added.

 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I think I’m gonna vomit.”

 

“Bye, Jack!”

 

“Yes, bye, Jack!” Phil echoed. Dan hung up, and Phil turned around so he could drop the phone onto the couch.

 

“Carry on?” Phil asked.

 

“Fuck you, Phil.”

 

“I like that plan!”

 

He did let Dan down. Eventually. Dan waved a finger in his face and spluttered incoherently for a little while, then stuck his nose in the air and dramatically stormed back into the kitchen, Phil following him and laughing his ass off. They did finally make the cookies, and they were chocolate chip, though they weren’t the kind Phil was used to, something to do with being drop cookies or ones you had to cut out. He didn’t quite get it. The event of making cookies managed to last the rest of the day, until at six when they finally finished and took the remainder of the Chinese takeout from the fridge – excluding Jack’s lo mein of course. Dan found another cheesy Christmassy movie for them to watch, and they curled up together in the recliner to eat and watch.

 

“Why are they singing,” Phil asked more than once.

 

“Shush!” Dan protested.

 

“But why are they singing?!”

 

After a few more movies and quite a few of the cookies – “Oh, my god, Dan, these are the best cookies I’ve ever eaten in my life. They’re almost as delicious as your cock.” *heavy sigh* “Thank you very much, Romeo.” – Dan fell asleep in Phil’s lap. When the credits had rolled and Netflix had returned to browse, Phil carefully adjusted Dan so he could lift him up. He stood, grunted a little, then carried him from the living room back to the bedroom. He laid him down on the bed, then went to turn off all the lights. He brushed his teeth, switched off the bedroom lights, then climbed into bed beside Dan to quickly fall asleep as well.

 

“Phil, you should have made me wake up to brush my teeth.”

 

Phil half opened one eye. “You looked too cute,” he muttered.

 

Dan grumbled under his breath and got up. Phil stretched and yawned; he glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost ten. He got out of bed and padded towards the bathroom, leaning on the door jam.

 

“So are we making more cookies today?”

 

“No, I thou’ we go to da mall,” Dan said around his toothbrush.

 

“The mall? You wanna be teenage girls for an afternoon?”

 

Dan spat toothpaste from his mouth. “To look at suits for the Snow Ball.”

 

“That is such a cheesy name.”

 

“Who ever said our prom committee was original?” Dan sighed, then rinsed his mouth.

 

“So suit shopping, then an afternoon of being teenage girls.”

 

“More people than just teenage girls spend the afternoon at the mall.”

 

Phil rolled his eyes. “Sure, fairy.”

 

Dan raised an eyebrow at him in the mirror. “Are you sassing me, Romeo?”

 

Phil then snorted. “Okay, if either of us are going to be that dominant in this relationship, it’s me.”

 

Dan grinned. “What, don’t like being the little?”

 

“You may not call me daddy.”

 

“Oh, god, _daddy_ , yes,” Dan suddenly moaned.

 

Phil gulped. He turned away and left the bathroom, but not before Dan could laugh at his suddenly noticeable boner.

 

They got to the mall a little before noon. Phil’s boner was part of the reason it took them so long. Dan immediately dragged him to a formal dress store, and started comparing ties to Phil’s eyes.

 

“Definitely a light blue for the tie,” he said as they left the third store.

 

“Why can’t we just wear black?” Phil grumbled.

 

Dan looked at him. Then he suddenly gasped. “I know!”

 

“What?”

 

Dan ran over to a window display of a shop where a mannequin was sporting a white suit and black shirt. “Look, Phil, it’s lovely!”

 

“I am not wearing a white suit.”

 

Dan turned around and stuck out his bottom lip. “Please, Romeo?”

 

Phil mentally scrambled to resist Dan’s puppy expression. His lower lip quivered a little, his large eyes gleaming a rich chocolate color.

 

“Dammit,” he hissed. Dan grinned and looped his arm through his then dragged him into the store.

 

“How are we even paying for this?” Phil grumbled.

 

“I happen to have a doting grandma,” Dan said. “I don’t know about you.”

 

“I guess if I told my mum I was willingly buying a suit, she’d be too shocked to say no to pay for it,” Phil sighed.

 

“That’s the spirit, Romeo,” Dan beamed.

 

They tried on the suits. Dan took a picture and Phil sent it to his mother.

 

from Mum: _oh my word you look so handsome!!!_

 

to Mum: _dan wants to match for the christmas dance_

 

from Mum: _oh that’s so sweet!!!_

 

to Mum: _can you put some money on my bank card to pay for it?_

 

from Mum: _how much_

 

to Mum: one second

 

Phil checked the price tag on the suit and raised his eyebrows. “Erm, Dan, are you sure you want these suits?”

 

“They’re on sale, don’t worry,” Dan assured him.

 

“By how much?”

 

“40%,” Dan said.

 

Phil did some quick math. It was a much more reasonable number. He texted his mother the amount and waited.

 

from Mum: _how about we go halfs on it?_

 

to Mum: _i’ll take that_

 

He checked his bank balance on his phone a minute later and found the funds transferred. Dan was checking his own phone and counting on his fingers.

 

“I know they cost more for larger sizes, but I didn’t think they were that much less,” he quipped.

 

Dan rolled his eyes. “I’m debating whether I want to buy shoes here or somewhere else.”

 

“Somewhere else, fairy, you get the same shoes for way less.”

 

“Yeah, but these go so well!” Dan insisted, showing him a pair of white wing-tip Oxfords.

 

Phil rolled his eyes. “You could probably find those somewhere else.”

 

Dan shrugged. “I’ll buy them here.”

 

“How doting is your grandma?” Phil muttered as he followed Dan to the check-out.

 

They left the store a while later, Phil carrying the suits over his shoulder. They went back to his car to drop them off, as Dan didn’t want to leave yet and carrying suit bags around the mall all day wasn’t something Phil was interested in. They returned through the food court and Phil bought them both ice cream. Dan curled his arm around Phil’s and leaned into his shoulder as he happily licked at his ice cream cone.

 

“Daniel?”

 

Dan’s small frame jerked itself away from Phil’s in milliseconds as the voice of his mother reached them. Phil looked around guiltily, then spotted her standing with Dan’s father by the only fountain in the mall.

 

“Oh, shit,” he muttered. Dan’s mother started towards them, almost hesitantly at first, then her face set in a stony expression and she crossed to them with a stride that managed to make even Phil feel slightly intimidated.

 

“What on earth do you think you’re doing?” Mrs. Howell said, her voice somehow both enraged and soft at the same time. Despite her small stature, the set of her shoulders and her arms hanging stiffly at her side made her loom before them as a giant or a monster would. Dan practically cowered before her.

 

“I – Mum, I can explain –”

 

“I do not want to hear your excuses,” she snapped, and she grabbed Dan’s hand, tugging him away from Phil roughly. “You are coming with us.”

 

“But Mum –”

 

“Do not ‘but mum’ me!” Mrs. Howell hissed, “I specifically forbade you from hanging about with that boy, and you have blatantly disobeyed me!”

 

“Wait, you didn’t tell me that!” Phil burst out.

 

“Stay out of this!” Mrs. Howell said to him, sticking a finger in his space and glaring daggers at him. “I do not want my son hanging about with the likes of you!”

 

“Mum –”

 

“No!” Mrs. Howell said, and a passing group of girls gave them confused looks. “I told you that this boy is nothing but trouble! He’s already got you lying to me, he’ll likely get you in prison sooner or later!”

 

“Mum, Phil would never –”

 

“Never?” his mother cut him off sharply. “He already has a record! God only knows what sorts of illegal business he’s done and not been caught in!”

 

“That is a sealed file,” Phil snapped, “you shouldn’t be able to access it!”

 

“I don’t need to see what’s in the file to know you have one!” Mrs. Howell barked at him. “Now, get away from my son, and if I see you near him again, I will file a restraining order!”

 

“Mum, no!”

 

“Daniel, be quiet, you don’t know what you’re doing,” Mrs. Howell said to her son, her voice deathly soft. “Staying away from him is what’s best for you!”

 

“I won’t stay away,” Phil spat.

 

Mrs. Howell slowly turned to look at him. “Excuse me?”

 

“I will not stay away,” Phil repeated, insisting. “I love him, I’m not going to leave because you are a judgmental woman who can’t imagine someone who looks like me could be a good person!”

 

Mrs. Howell blinked at him, her glare slackened. Dan gaped, his father, who had said nothing so far, raised his eyebrows.

 

“You love him?” Mrs. Howell said, her voice somewhat skeptical.

 

Phil’s breath hitched in his throat. “I – yeah. I do.”

 

“I love him, too, Mum,” Dan said in a quiet voice.

 

She glanced between them, her brows furrowed and her mouth open in confusion. Then she set it in a thin line and her expression turned hard once again. “You are children,” she said. “You can’t possible know what love feels like.”

 

“We can!” Phil shouted, and several people stopped to gawk at him.

 

“You could never be good for Dan,” Mrs. Howell snapped back. “You are a troublemaker, a fool and a criminal!”

 

“He is not a criminal, Mum!” Dan cried.

 

“How can you know?” she asked him. “How do you know he won’t hurt you, if he might rob you or harm you?”

 

“Because I love him!”

 

“You hardly know him!”

 

“Yes, I do!”

 

“You are young,” Mrs. Howell said, and her voice was almost pleading with him. “You are naive and trusting and inexperienced!”

 

“I’m not stupid!” Dan snapped. “Phil is always gentle with me, he’s caring and sweet and he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me!”

 

“He is the worst thing that could happen to you!”

 

“I’m not going to murder him,” Phil shot; he couldn’t believe how persistent she was.

 

She gave him a look of pure rage. “You need to leave,” she said, already pulling Dan away again. She stopped when a hand fell on her shoulder.

 

Dan’s father gave her a placating smile. “Let it go, darling.”

 

“What?” she spluttered.

 

“The boy’s right,” he said. “He’s been nothing but respectful to us since we met him, and you’ve done nothing but judge him based on his looks. On his tattoos.”

 

“He –”

 

“Did you even look at his tattoos?” Dan’s father said, gesturing to Phil. “He has one for breast cancer! The boy can’t be as bad as you make him out to be.”

 

“He has a police record,” she hissed.

 

“I couldn’t pay a parking ticket!” Phil snapped. “Once, I graffitied the back wall of the school!”

 

Mrs. Howell was faltering. “Vandalism can lead to further crime.”

 

“You’re grasping at straws now,” Dan’s father said, and now even he sounded angry with her. “You’re just mad that Dan is growing up.”

 

Phil hesitated. He thought she just thought he was a bad person.

 

Dan looked at his mother, who was glaring at her husband now. “Mum?”

 

She stood there, silent for a moment. “I will think of a punishment for lying to us later,” she murmured.

 

“But what about Phil?”

 

“You may see him,” Dan’s father said. He took Mrs. Howell’s arm and gently pulled her away. Then he leaned in and whispered, “To be honest, I’m glad I don’t have to pretend I don’t know anymore.”

 

Dan flushed bright pink. His father smiled softly, then led Mrs. Howell away. Phil looked at Dan, who looked back.

 

“Fuck me,” Phil murmured.

 

Dan laughed nervously and stepped forward to hug him. “That can be arranged.”

 

Phil smiled and dropped a kiss onto the top of his head.

 

“Anon, anon!”

 

Dan inhaled sharply through his nose and turned around in Phil’s arms. “TROYE MELLET I WILL KILL YOU ONE OF THESE DAYS.”

 

Troye grinned while Tyler laughed. “How now, you secret black midnight hags!”

 

“FUCK YOU.”

 

“What is it you do?”

 

Tyler grabbed Dan’s arm and said in a swooning voice, “A deed without a name!”

 

“Something about yeasty waves, answer me!”

 

“Speak!”

 

“What?” Phil said.

 

“The next line is ‘Demand.’”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Just say it.”

 

“Demand?”

 

“We’ll answer!” Tyler shouted, with way too much glee than was appropriate for the situation.

 

“I fucking hate Macbeth,” Dan hissed.

 

“Aw, why?” Tyler crooned.

 

“It’s fucking scary,” Dan simpered, crossing his arms over his chest. “Who the hell is willing to actually smash their baby’s head against the floor?”

 

“Wait, what?” Phil spluttered.

 

“Lady Macbeth is, apparently,” Tyler snorted.

 

“Bring forth nothing but males, for thy undaunted mettle should bring forth men children only!” Troye said pompously.

 

“God, I hate Macbeth,” Dan muttered. “He is such an idiot.”

 

“I thought he was a tyrant?” Troye said.

 

“He let his wife talk him into killing the king!” Dan said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And then when she killed herself, he said “well fuck that she should have done that a more convenient time!”

 

“That’s pretty messed up,” Phil agreed.

 

Troye shrugged. “I still love ‘Something wicked this way comes.’”

 

“Oh, hey, guys!”

 

Troye yelped in fright as Connor spoke right behind him. “What the fuck!”

 

“What?” Connor said in confusion. “Tyler, why are you laughing?”

 

Tyler collapsed onto Phil’s arm, his laughter overtaking him.

 

“That is downright frightening,” Phil said with a grin.

 

“What is?” Connor said. “I don’t get it!”

 

They left the mall around three or four. Tyler convinced Phil to let him, Troye, and Connor pile into the backseat of his car and to bring them back to Jack’s flat. Tyler insisted Jack wouldn’t mind, Phil insisted they could only come if Connor would do his freaky something wicked this way comes trick to Jack. Connor still didn’t get it. He unlocked the flat, letting them in, and found Jack sprawled on the sofa, lo mein hanging from his mouth. Phil raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“What,” was all he said.

 

“Jack!” Tyler squealed, theatrically throwing himself onto the couch and hugging him. “Phil kidnapped us! He said he’d do something horrible to us if we didn’t come with him!”

 

“What a motherfucker,” Jack said, then set down his lo mein. He wagged a finger at Phil. “You let these poor kids go this minute, you hear me?”

 

“Sorry, no can do,” Phil said. “I have plans to make them into a stew so I can feed it to the school board.”

 

“Oh, that sounds like a genius idea!” Jack agreed. “Yeah, sorry, Tyler, can’t help you.”

 

“Fuck you too,” Tyler giggled.

 

Connor dropped onto the couch beside Tyler, immediately curling up in his seat like a cat. Troye squeezed in between Tyler and Connor, making for very little room on the couch.

 

“This is a one person couch!” Jack protested.

 

“Oh, hush, we’re stealing your body heat so when Phil makes us into that stew, we’ll be already half cooked.”

 

“What am I, a space heater?”

 

“Yes,” Dan said, setting himself on Jack’s lap and stealing some of his lo mein.

 

“PHIL!” Jack whined.

 

“What do you want me to do,” Phil asked, taking the arm chair.

 

“Your boyfriend is sitting on me!”

 

“So?”

 

“He’s eating my lo mein!”

 

“I actually don’t care,” Phil said, then snatched the TV remote off the coffee table and changed the TV channel. “I’m watching Arrow.”

 

“No, I was watching something!”

 

“Commercials?” Phil asked, then opened the TV guide. He snorted loudly. “Why the hell are you watching Revenge of the Bridesmaids?”

 

“Shut the fuck up,” Jack growled.

 

“Ooh, I like that movie, let’s just keep watching it,” Tyler said.

 

“No!” Phil protested, hugging the remote to his chest. “I want to watch Arrow!”

 

“Raise your hand if you want to watch Revenge of the Bridesmaids,” Troye said. He, Tyler, Dan, and Connor stuck their hands in the air. After a second’s hesitation, Jack did too.

 

“Well, I have the remote,” Phil said, “so ha.”

 

“Dan, go get the remote from him,” Connor said.

 

“Aha, a mission behind enemy lines,” Dan said, puffing out his chest. “I shall brave it, though I might not return alive!”

 

He sprang off of Jack’s lap, making him scramble to not drop his lo mein, then sashayed to Phil’s armchair. He sat himself on Phil’s lap, this time straddling him, then pressed his lips to his neck.

 

“What will it take for you to give up the remote?” Dan whispered, dragging his lips across his skin.

 

“Ummm…”

 

Dan swept his tongue across his pulse. Phil tossed Tyler the remote.

 

“Yeah, yeah, shut up!” Phil called when the other boys began laughing.

 

Connor, Tyler, and Troye ended up staying the night. Jack pulled out the bed from the sofa for them, then told them that they were not twelve year old girls and did not need to spend the whole night shrieking about boys. Tyler laughed loudly at that and promised Jack they wouldn’t. He made a gesture of I’m watching you then reminded Dan and Phil to keep it down before going into his room. Phil looked over at Dan, who was sitting on the sofa bed with Tyler and Connor. Troye had taken the armchair.

 

“Should I assume you’re sleeping with me or are you going to be teenage girls with these three tonight?”

 

“I’ll be a teenage girl for a little while, then be a slightly older teenage girl and join you,” Dan promised.

 

“Riiiight,” Phil said, drawing the word out in feigned disbelief. He pecked Dan on the lips, then said goodnight to the other three. Tyler threw out his arms in a silent but dramatic request for a hug. Phil rolled his eyes but gave him one.

 

“Hey, don’t steal my boyfriend!” Dan protested.

 

“Honey, this boy was my sugar daddy years before you met,” Tyler laughed. “But you can keep him, don’t worry.”

 

“I am not your sugar daddy,” Phil insisted. Tyler winked at him, his grin broadening.

 

“Sure, daddy,” he said. Phil went red, though he did not react at all the way he had that morning when Dan said it. The four younger boys laughed loudly as Phil left.

 

“Shut the fuck up!” Jack shouted.

 

The Snow Ball was on the Friday before Christmas, which was two weeks away. The school was peppered with flyers and announcements and there was a table set up every morning to nominate people for the Snow King and Queen. Dan nominated Phil, who rolled his eyes but nominated Dan. Tyler nominated himself, and Troye nominated Jack in revenge, who responded by grabbing Troye, dipping him and fake kissing him for about five minutes. Troye was red in the face and Tyler was only half pissed. The week leading up to the dance went by agonizingly slowly, each class feeling like days and each day feeling like months. Finally, the day arrived and the final bell rang. Phil drove Dan home so he could get ready, then drove back to his own house. He filled up the time by playing Call of Duty, but kept getting distracted and killed. At five, he got in the shower, shaved, and spent ages straightening his hair. He would be meeting Dan at the school, as his parents had insisted that they drive him themselves. The dance started at six thirty, so Phil got his suit on at five past six.

 

“You’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up!” Phil’s mother called as she passed his room.

 

“I’ve got it under control!” Phil insisted. He grabbed his phone, keys, and wallet and checked his hair in the mirror one more time. The white suit did look quite good; the shirt was black and had a glossy quality about it that Phil thought looked very snazzy. He had to agree with Dan, albeit reluctantly. He adjusted the tie, then left his room.

 

“Quick, quick, let me get a picture!” his mum called as he came downstairs.

 

“Mum, I’ll be late!” he protested, but she fussed over him until she got at least twenty pictures. He pulled out of his driveway at quarter past six. He did his best not to speed. At least, he did whenever he saw a police car.

 

The school parking lot was packed with cars, and someone had taken Phil’s usual space. He grumbled to himself as he parked farther back, then got out and locked it. He checked his watch, then started to hurry up to the school. He passed Mark and Felix, who were by themselves, ignoring them. Phil reached the doors and slipped through the crowd of people inside. The dance was in the school gym, and it was the one time Phil actually walked quickly to the gym in his life. He passed Luke and Emma and waved to them, they waved back, Emma wolf whistling at his suit. He quickly found Tyler and Troye, who were standing by a table laden with finger food.

 

“Have you seen Dan yet?” he asked them.

 

“He isn’t here yet,” Tyler said. “His dad is driving, so they’re bound to be a little late.”

 

“Damn,” Phil sighed. He looked around the gym, taking in the decorations and the random ass disco ball hanging from the ceiling.

 

“That’s a really great suit, Phil,” Tyler told him.

 

“Hmm? Oh, thanks, Dan picked it out.”

 

“It’s so cute,” Troye told him.

 

“Definitely not what I thought you’d be wearing,” Tyler said.

 

“What did you think I’d be wearing?” Phil asked, sticking his chest out.

 

“Idk, like safety pins in your tie,” Tyler laughed.

 

“What’s wrong with safety pins in ties?” asked Jack, walking up to them in a black and green suit, complete with safety pins in his tie.

 

“Absolutely nothing,” Tyler promised. Jack looked Phil up and down and laughed.

 

“Phil, dude what the hell,” he said, “you look like a male model!”

 

“Seriously?” Phil asked, tugging at his collar. “I feel like a melting snowman.”

 

“It’s not that hot, honey,” Tyler assured him. “You’re just nervous.”

 

“Why am I nervous?” Phil asked. “Dan and I have been going out for three months?”

 

“I don’t know,” Tyler said with a shrug. “They don’t offer psychology here.”

 

Phil let out a heavy sigh. Tyler patted his shoulder comfortingly. Then he glanced around him, and smiled. “Look.”

 

Phil turned around, and saw Dan stepping into the gym. He gulped, feeling like he’d taken a sucker punch to the gut with how fucking _**beautiful**_ Dan was. His suit accentuated his thin frame, the black and white complementing his soft complexion and dark hair. He wore flat white earrings and a flower crown, and his makeup. As Dan spotted them and started towards them, Phil never appreciated lipstick or eyeshadow more. His lips were stained a matte red, his eyes glittered with silver shadow and sharp winged eyeliner. Dan stopped before him, his hands tugging on the cuffs of his shirt.

 

“Holy fuck,” was the first thing Phil said.

 

Dan grinned. “Nice to see you too,” he replied, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips.

 

“You are fucking beautiful,” Phil told him. He slipped his arms around his waist and hugged him.

 

“Thank you,” Dan murmured. “You’re very handsome yourself.”

 

“OMG Dan, why didn’t you tell me you were doing wings?” Troye asked. “I would have gotten Connor to do my makeup too!”

 

“Because I like being the star,” Dan said, sticking his nose in the air.

 

“Hmph,” Troye said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well, jokes on you, Connor’s wearing winged eyeliner too.”

 

“Who’s he here with?” Dan asked. “He never told me!”

 

“I went with myself because I’m a beautiful independent woman who don’t need no man,” Connor said, having walked up behind them.

 

“Shit, Troye, you didn’t say the thing about something wicked!” Phil sighed.

 

“Oh, shut up,” Troye said, then stuck his tongue out at Phil.

 

“Connor, you could have gone with me!” Dan told his friend.

 

“Oi!” Phil said.

 

“Oh, I don’t mind, I wouldn’t want to upset Phil,” Connor promised. “TBH, the day you got together and he got all possessive in Troye’s face scared the shit out of me.”

 

“You were scared!” Troye gasped. “I nearly wet myself!”

 

“Don’t admit that, honey,” Tyler said softly.

 

Troye stuck his tongue out at Tyler, who responded by kissing him.

 

“Kay, I’m gonna go find the kids,” Jack said, clapping Phil on the back. “Have fun with your boyfriend.”

 

“I plan on it,” Phil promised, squeezing Dan in his arms. Dan smiled and hugged him back. Jack rolled his eyes, walking away. Dan looked up at Phil, his smile soft and sweet.

 

“Are you going to ask me to dance or not?”

 

Phil laughed. “Will you dance with me?”

 

Dan gave a nod, and Phil released him to lead him into the middle of the gym, where couples had already begun to congregate to dance to the electro-pop music that the unoriginal student council had picked. Phil set one hand at Dan’s waist, and lifted Dan’s in the other. They began to sway back and forth, out of time to the beat and with little talent in their dancing, simply rotating slowly on the spot. Dan’s smile was radiant.

 

“I love you,” Phil whispered.

 

“I love you too,” Dan murmured.


End file.
